


Mindwipe

by ss9



Series: Travels in the Tardis: A companion's guide to Time Lords & Ladies [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Twissy if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-19
Updated: 2015-09-10
Packaged: 2018-03-08 07:13:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 50,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3200246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ss9/pseuds/ss9
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being a companion is tougher than Osgood had suspected. Concerned about the morally questionable situations she might find herself in whilst travelling with The Mistress, Osgood had braced herself for everything from murder to mayhem, everything but not boredom and tea, knitting or hideous tea cosies. So a side trip to Aquila and its famous baths should surely be a welcome change? Right? Wrong!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

-/-

Tea…

All of time and space Missy had said and so far all Osgood had experienced was the monotonous minutia of making tea.

A PHD in Chemical Engineering, three years of experience at UNIT and she was the damn tea girl.

When she had initially chosen to travel time and space at the side of The Mistress and not The Doctor Osgood had been concerned about the morally questionable situations she might find herself embroiled in, a natural reaction when living and traveling with a psychopath. She had expected everything from murder to mayhem, everything but not boredom…not for The Mistress to disappear into the bowels of her Tardis and remain there for what seemed like weeks whilst they floated in the vortex.

Time spent exploring the Tardis with only Seb for company, the scientist in her was equally thrilled and frustrated by the Tardis and her own inability to make sense of the Gallifrayan language. Although there were moments of amusement for her; mainly around teaching Seb how to do the things that grown humans took for granted, how to use cutlery, the need to clean yourself and your clothes, even the actual necessity to eat unless you enjoyed going all wobbly and passing out. The former A.I. caught on quickly, he had clearly been studying humans for long enough but there was a distinct difference between theory and reality and Osgood would forever treasure the few occasions when that look of smug superiority that Seb generally wore around her slipped and he was almost tolerable. Still Osgood couldn't wait for something else to happen.

Resisting the urge to throw the beautiful hand painted porcelain teapot against the kitchen wall Osgood carefully went through step two of Missy's meticulous tea making instructions…warming the pot…Honestly only The Mistress would have rules around tea, numbered rules, printed rules, laminated rules, rules pinned up on the kitchen notice board; like Osgood was some sort of idiot who couldn't remember the steps without a daily reminder.

At first she had rebelled, had taking immense pleasure in swapping them around, or even when she was feeling particularly daring skipping a step altogether. Yet every time Missy had somehow known. She would take a look at the tea cup like its presence had offended her and Osgood had quickly learnt to duck when that immaculately shaped eyebrow would quirk, the first two times of having the scalding contents flung had taught her that much.

So now she just followed the rules.

Step three measuring out the tea leaves, one for Seb, two for The Mistress and one for herself. Adding these into the warmed tea pot Osgood could only wonder what the team at UNIT would be doing now. Perhaps there had been an alien invasion…maybe some alien tech had made its way onto the open market again?

Sighing wistfully Osgood poured the once boiled water into the warmed pot and set the timer before hastily assembling the tea tray. The delicate porcelain cup and saucer with flowers on was Missy's and other than to fill it or wash it no one was allowed to touch it or it's five brothers and sisters lest their grubby ape fingers rub away any of the decoration. Seb's cup was next, a simple metal cup all sleak lines and lastly Osgood's own, the lasting reminder of Missy's perverse childish sense of humour which Osgood had decided to ignore, to rise above.

Yet deep down Osgood couldn't deny that it irked her every time The Mistress caught sight of it and smirked. She already had everyday reminders of the fact that was on the lowest rung of the Tardis ladder, she didn't need an additional one in a branded tea drinking chimp mug from the 1980's. The only thing that stopped her from smashing the damn mug into a zillion pieces was the knowledge that without it she wouldn't be allowed to drink the tea she made.

Resisting the urge to slam the offending item down on the tray Osgood quickly added the little cup of milk, the sliced lemon and the large pot of sugar. She had given up trying to second guess how many sugars Missy would want in her tea as it seemed to vary each time and now Osgood planned for all possibilities. Tea strainer check…and then the last step.

Shuddering out of affront to good taste Osgood retrieved the tea cosy, wincing at the bright ugly clashing colours she quickly wrangled the slightly too small cosy half over the teapot. Given the choice that ugly monstrosity, one that would be rejected from any bring and buy sale, would join her mug in the waste extractor. Yet as fed up as she was with her current situation even Osgood wasn't suicidal.

After all The Mistress had knitted it.

Even now the memory of Missy prancing into the kitchen knitting needles still in hand, waving that ugly monstrosity of a tea cosy under her nose still brought Osgood out in a cold sweat. There was something particularly terrifying about The Mistress and sharp pointy objects. So it had seemed a good idea at the time to swallow down her disgust and force out a few words of praise and encouragement. After all whilst she was knitting or trying her hand at the traditional womanly arts, as listed in her Edwardian Housewife's companion, Missy wasn't blowing up planets or plotting Osgood's untimely death.

The timer's ring sounded and Osgood placed the now perfectly stewed tea down on the tray, picking up the tray and turning around only to find herself nose to nose with Missy who was looking far too pleased with herself as Osgood practically jumped out of her skin causing the contents of the tea tray to rattle ominously.

"Missy!" Osgood squeaked, dark brown eyes wide with fear as The Mistress lifted a palm held device up….a suspiciously familiar looking palm held device and moved to depress the button.

Osgood only had a moment to process her imminent death; unable to work out just what had triggered this outburst, had she forgotten some critical tea brewing step? Yet the excruciating burn of having her molecules disintegrated never occurred, instead the little device gave a pathetic little phuft and wisps of smoke began to seep out of the casing.

"Oh bugger." Missy huffed, a pout twisting up her scarlet painted lips. "I really thought adapting that Sontaran oscillator would suffice …oh well there really is nothing else for it we'll have to go shopping after all."

"Did you just try to kill me in order to test out your new device?" Osgood demanded her voice tight and clipped as she tried to keep a handle on her temper.

"Oh now don't sulk Skip, it's nothing personal I assure you but it has to be tested on organic matter."

"So use an orange or an apple or anything but not your companion!" Osgood spluttered yet Missy continued to stare at her blankly as though she were speaking double Dutch and not English.

"You cannot simple use me as your test dummy whenever you feel like it!" Osgood added before her mind stumbled on the only argument that might carry any weight and thus increase her survival prospects significantly. "I mean how do you think that conversation would go with The Doctor when you bump into him? Oh sorry Doctor I sort of accidentally disintegrated Osgood again!"

Snorting as her little ape's amusing attempt at manipulation Missy couldn't resist the urge to reach out and pat her pet's head. "Oh Skip I'd simply tell him I lost you, although with the rate he burns through companions I really don't think he can talk. However if it really upsets you next time I will find another test dummy."

Yes the prospect of dying again does upset me funnily enough, Osgood added mentally trying to flinch from Missy's overfamiliar behaviour, choosing to pick her battles. It was useless after all to suggest that Missy avoid disintegrating people just to test her inventions worked. Instead she chose to focus on the other snippet of information Missy had disclosed…"Shopping… "

"You mean we're finally going to go somewhere?" Osgood couldn't contain the squeak of excitement, not caring even when it earned her a patronising smirk from Missy.

"Not earth?" Osgood clarified, she had learnt quickly that The Mistress loved misdirection and savoured the confusion of others as they struggled to keep up with her.

"Well of course not." Missy tutted, rolling her eyes at the thought that what she needed could be found on that backwater of a planet.

"And when you say shopping you don't mean for clothes do you because…"

"You know for someone so keen to travel in time and space you certainly do complain a lot." Missy remarked turning on her heel, slipping her still smoking device into one of her folded space pockets as she led an eager Osgood back into the control room.

There the timelady began to plot in their coordinates, pausing only to cuff a snoozing Seb around the ear for daring to put his feet up on the control panel as he snoozed in the jump seat. Honestly give him an ape body and suddenly he loses all the manners she had spent all those minutes carefully programming; at least Skip had the excuse of having been born into the bottom feeder human race, Seb had no such excuse.

"Wha…Oh Sorry Mistress." Seb recovered quickly, smoothing down his slightly rumpled suit as he rose from his impromptu nap, yet he could feel the burn of embarrassment in his ears which as yet he still failed to control. The human body was simply not as straightforward as he had anticipated. Blushing, sleeping, eating, it had been a whole new world for him and that was ignoring the other less than pleasant attributes of operating a physical being. There were moments when Seb almost longed for the simpler days of the Nethersphere.

Feeling emotion was one areas he was still trying to process, his programming hadn't prepared him for the physical ramifications of emotions and Seb half the time still wasn't sure if this twisting in his stomach was because he was embarrassed or because he had forgotten to eat again. That his humiliation had witnesses was only making things worse…or one particular witness Seb scowled shooting Osgood a dirty look when she had the nerve to smile at him.

Yet Seb needn't have worried Osgood was far too distracted by the prospect of her first proper trip anywhere to savour his blushes. This was it, her first proper alien planet and Osgood had to dig her bitten jagged fingernails into her palms in an effort to restrain her excitement. Yet clearly her enthusiasm was still too easy to read if the sneer Seb shot her from across the Tardis console was any indicator but Osgood refused to allow him to spoil this for her. It had been far too long in coming.

A completely different planet… Rassilon's little asteroid base didn't count in Osgood's opinion and besides it wasn't like she had gotten to look around being that she was so focused on not dying at the time.

Tugging on the bottom of her corduroy jacket, one of the few items of her clothing that had made it onto the Tardis having eventually passed the combined scrutiny of both Missy and Seb, and therefore one of a only a few items of clothing she was permitted to wear in their presence. Osgood immediately fell into step behind The Mistress as she picked up her umbrella and made her way towards the Tardis doors.

"Allons-y." Osgood couldn't stop the excited little quip from bubbling out from between her lips.

"Skip if I ever hear that particular phrase from you ever again I shall take great delight in relieving you of the use of your tongue." Missy replied evenly, her pleasant tone belaying the very real threat that lay beneath. "The same goes for Geronimo or any other such ridiculous phrases."

Biting down on said tongue Osgood could only nod, already craning her neck as the door was opened. It was beautiful; the sky was a reddish orange beyond the shimmer of a glass dome and was that…two suns? Osgood couldn't contain her little squeal of excitement as she tried to take in everything at once. In the distance tall glittering buildings towered up into the sky, the distant sound of water and the smell of something completely alien.

"Could you try and act less like a tourist?" Seb snarked. "Honestly it's embarrassing, people are looking."

"Now now Seb cut Skip a little slack." Missy chastised him lightly, turning her glare on the few people who had paused to observe their unusual little group, before pausing to savour her latest pet's excitement.

"Where exactly are we?" Osgood demanded, head whipping backwards and forwards to avoid missing anything.

"Aquila, named after the constellation, a hunk of rock orbiting the star Tarazed, first colonised in 2352 by a mining corporation for the heavy atmospheric gases. The colony was almost abandoned in 2401 until the rejuvenating properties of its natural mud baths were discovered. Apparently not only are they excellent for the skin but they have almost mood altering properties, meant to suck all of the stress and negative energy right out of you. So now the wealthy and elite of the galaxy flock here and as a result there is an excellent traders market."

Frowning slightly Osgood tried to keep up with all the information Missy was shooting at her, falling into step beside the timelady as she began to cross one of the large metal walkways that separated the landing docks from the main body of the city.

"It's an alien spa planet?" She asked lip curling slightly in disgust.

Osgood had only been a spa once, her sister's hen do, and once had been enough. Now there mere thought of a spa brought her out in a cold sweat, taking her clothes off in public and showing other people her wobbly bits, aka her sister Stacie's perfect friends with their tanned, waxed and toned bikini bodies. Even now Osgood was still sure Stacie had only invited her out of obligation and because the opportunity to humiliate her brainy boring sister was simply too good to pass up.

"You could always go and wait in the Tardis?" Missy sang softly, blue eyes glinting with barely repressed irritation.

"No! Sorry it's beautiful." Osgood backpedalled sharply pushing her replacement glasses back up her nose. "Thank you…Besides it's not like we will be going to the spa will we?"

"I hadn't intended to." Misssy retorted, bright blue eyes flicking impatiently over the line of people waiting to have their identification checked by the city police, the gem of a naughty idea taking seed.

"Although now you mention it…" She trailed off savouring the look of horrified panic that seemed to overtake her pet's face. Well that settled it then and wide grin slowly spread across Missy's face.

"Do you fancy a little trip to the spa Seb after we've finished our shopping?" Missy asked innocently pleased when Seb quickly picked up on the fact this was one of the times when the question was rhetorical and his input really wasn't required.

"No please Missy…I'll go wait in the Tardis after all." Osgood offered yet the clamping of the time lady's hand about her arm put paid to any quick escape and Osgood found herself being half dragged half pushed along between Missy and Seb.

"Oh but you cannot miss this Skip as your tour guide to all of time and space I simply insist."

"But I left tea in the pot and you know how you hate it when it's left to stain." Osgood tried again.

"Now don't worry about that Skip there will be plenty of time for the washing up when we get back." Missy teased.

"But we didn't bring any bathing suits…"

"Oh we won't be needing one." Missy gloated reaching out and tucking a stray lock of hair behind Skip's ear as she allowed her gaze to drag down and then back up her companion suggestively. "If I remember rightly all clothing is banned anyway because it would interfere with the psychic properties of the mud baths."

Closing her eyes in horror and defeat Osgood could feel her cheeks burning, great not merely a spa but a naked spa. "Please tell me they at least have alcohol." She whimpered, feeling the warmth of Missy's breath on her face as the time lady laughed and leant forward to whisper in her ear.

"Now that would be something worth seeing Skip and perhaps I'll also discover if you turn that pretty shade of red all over your body when I'm nearby."

"On second thoughts no alcohol!" Osgood insisted flustered and unable to meet Missy's gaze, this time not even bothering to put upon even a token resistance as she was propelled forward.

The Mistress would do whatever she wanted with or without Osgood's approval and Osgood could feel her skin squirm in anticipation at the inevitable humiliation that she just knew would be heading her way….suddenly being stuck on the Tardis making tea no longer seemed like such a terrible fate after all.

-/-


	2. Chapter 2

-/-

"So what exactly are we looking for and what makes you think we will find it…here?" The doubt in Osgood's tone was audible and even the most emotionally illiterate person would have picked up on the nervousness in her voice. Yet Osgood was beginning to suspect that Missy wasn't illiterate she simply didn't think it mattered that her companion was uncomfortable.

In fact Osgood was starting to think Seb had the right idea when he gleefully abandoned them at the first sight of a gentleman's tailors and Osgood loathed shopping. Naively Osgood had thought that accompanying Missy to whatever alien hardware store the time lady had in mind would be far more interesting. The opportunity to pick and poke through alien tech after weeks with nothing more technical to operate than the kettle had obvious appeal to the UNIT scientist.

At first Osgood had simply been too caught up trying to look at everything to realise they were consistently heading down.

They had long since left the wide well lit streets of the city behind, descending down narrow and crowded service elevators until even these conveniences gave out and they were left navigating a winding metal staircase that seemed to burrow down into the bowels of the earth; occasional tunnels branching off leading to poorly lit streets along which people rushed with their heads down, no talking or eye contact. It reminded Osgood of the winding tunnels of the underground, only dirtier if that were possible and populated by aliens.

"Missy?" Osgood prompted drawing closer to her guide afraid that they might be separated as they turned off of the staircase into a particularly busy tunnel. "How do you even know you are going in the right direction?"

"Because I do." Missy chastised her companion her blue eyes darting about as she assessed potential threats.

Their presence here was drawing attention, not overt but Missy could still feel interested eyes looking them over and lingering. They stuck out, two lone females, clean, well fed and at least in her case well dressed…there was only so much that could be done with Skip's wardrobe. The Mistress had forgotten what it was to seem harmless, for so long her outward appearance had looked sinister if not visibly threatening and people avoided her. It was almost amusing to have other people mistake her for prey.

Already there was someone following them, a street rat, not a threat in itself but these begging children made their living by reporting to the people who were and Missy was not looking for a confrontation; she was quite attached to this form with its high cheekbones and elegant posture. If she had realised the advantages of being female The Mistress would have made the change regenerations ago, even if it was simply just to enjoy making The Doctor squirm.

He was attracted to her but his pride simply wouldn't allow him to admit it…by The Other it was going to be delightful stripping him of all his illusions and defences.

The thought of The Doctor brought a smirk to Missy's lips, the poor lamb was probably already trying to track her down, he was so adorably predictable that way. She really should take the time to put some effort into laying down some false trails for him, send him off to visit some interesting planets...maybe the Siocians who with their standard greeting of hugging all new acquaintances spontaneously upon introduction The Doctor was bound to have a delightful time on that planet.

Sniggering to herself as Missy visualised The Doctors reaction, this version of him was so delightfully prickly, such a relief after the practically gigolo behaviour displayed by his last two regenerations. After all The Mistress had her own projects to attend to, she couldn't be wasting time fending off the excessive females that seemed to fling themselves at The Doctor's pretty young bodies. It was a relief that his mongrel of a wife had removed herself from the picture otherwise Missy would have been forced to eliminate her herself and she doubted that would make her task in winning The Doctor to her side any easier…a dead spouse tended to upset some people…

"Ah we're here!" Missy announced for Skip's benefit, her pet was usually quiet for her and although Missy didn't exactly enjoy her prattling on the sudden absence of it was surprisingly unpleasant.

Here it turned out was some sort of junk shop and Osgood had to resist the urge to hold her nose as they stepped into the cave that doubled as a shop. Immediately as they stepped inside the proprietor was oozing over to them…literally oozing…and Osgood suddenly had a good idea where the smell was coming from. Even watching where she stepped it was impossible to avoid the slime trails the little green slug like creature had left over the floor, the merchandise was stacked high and the passageways in between were narrow.

"Greetings and the blessings of Aquila." The salesmen gushed, dark eyes glinting as he took in the wealthy appearance of his new patrons. "I am Ril and I cannot begin to express my good fortune, such visions of feminine beauty in my humble little …."

"An oscillator not Sontaran, Vochi should do or something similar, it needs to be able to handle twenty terajoules per second." Missy rattled off taking the moment to check on the finish of her manicure, frowning slightly at the slight chip on her thumb nail.

"Something that can handle that sort of power isn't easy to come by or cheap…"Ril began slyly only to be cut off by Missy.

"Do I look like the sort of woman who likes anything cheap?" Missy hissed dangerously. Finally lifting her gaze from her lacquered finish to glare down at the little slug; blue eyes glinting she set the sharp pointy tip of her umbrella down against the floor and leaned over it as she stared down at him.

"No of course…" Ril backpedalled sharply. "I merely meant that such things would be difficult for most traders to come across, but then Ril is not most traders."

"So can you help us or not?" Missy demanded eyes narrowing as she pictured shish-kebabing the little mollosk and introducing him to a salt bath, savouring his imagined screams as all the water was slowly drained out of his odious little body.

"Well that depends." Ril replied his dark eyes narrowing. "Are we talking trade or credit?"

Surprised by the question Missy actually paused to consider, she was after all a fugitive on all worlds under the jurisdiction of the Shadow Proclamation, although they were probably still looking for her face from three regenerations back. Even so it paid to be careful.

"What sort of items would you accept in trade?"

"Oh precious jewels, rare technology…" Ril paused his gaze flicking to Osgood who felt violated as his gaze seemed to linger for too long, she almost felt like a piece of livestock being assessed. "Or other tradable goods."

"You mean slaves." Missy tutted bluntly her eyes flickering up the recording device that was focused intently on them and had been since the moment they entered when she had felt it try to scan her telepathically, a futile attempt against her mental shields but by now it had probably taken whatever it could from Osgood's unprotected mind.

"But that's barbaric." Osgood exclaimed in horror turning to Missy as if expecting the time lady to agree with her, but Missy merely shrugged.

"What else can you expect from a lower species?" Missy muttered dismissively.

"But surely it's illegal?" Osgood continued desperately clinging to some notion that the galaxy couldn't be this corrupt and cruel.

"Slavery of humanoid lifeforms is not illegal on planets owned by the Galatron Mining Coorporation." Ril retorted sharply, eyeing Osgood with an expression of barely restrained interest.

"Mentors do not consider themselves humanoid." Missy explained as this were a mere academic point and not Osgood's freedom they were discussing.

"Healthy young fertile females are especially prized." Ril continued before turning back to Missy.

"Yes and as such they are worth more than a spare part."

"I would be happy to allow you to take a look around the store…anything you like…well within reason of course."

"I don't care how prized." Osgood spat. "I am not a slave." She added turning to The Mistress. "You cannot use me as currency."

"Honestly Skip have I even intimated that I would?" Missy replied lightly her tone teasing as she took in her human's delightfully flushed cheeks and flashing eyes, Skip really was adorable when she got herself all righteously riled up like this. She was almost beginning to see what The Doctor saw in them, it was a simple pleasure, but humans were so delightfully uncomplicated and yet somehow still full of surprises.

Biting her tongue Osgood was forced to concede that was true yet that didn't stop her curiosity. "So just what are you planning on trading?"

That was a good question and Missy could only rummage around in her pockets, no not her device even unfinished it was timelord technology, handing it over to Skip she continued to rummage pulling out odds and ends that she had picked up over the years and kept as souvenirs…a little cog from the clockwork man, half a bottle of hyper vodka the eye socket of a Dalek, a jar of cybermites…Each of these she handed over to an increasingly bemused Skip who had to jiggle them around to keep hold of everything.

Finally her fingers closed on something that might do and yet The Mistress hesitated, it was priceless thing of beauty and yet it was also the symbol of her greatest pain; Rassilon's white point star diamond, the last Gallifrayan diamond in this universe.

Pulling out her hand she slowly unclenched her fist exposing the flawless diamond to the light and even in the dim light of this little underground shop it sparkled.

"Well now…." Even Ril it seemed was impressed and Missy had to resist the urge to clench her fist as the odious little mollosk drew nearer.

"It is worth considerably more than what I am trading for." Missy retorted keeping the diamond deliberately out of his reach.

"I am sure we can come to some arrangement." Ril was practically drooling and with his species that meant a rather noxious odour was beginning to circulate. "

Pausing as a wicked idea came to mind Missy cast her gaze up to the recording device set into the ceiling, her fingers delicately caressing the diamond. After all she was The Mistress the rules were for other people. Turning back to Skip Missy favoured her human companion with a playful wink, reaching out her long fingers closed around the innocent little jar of cybermites and then snagged the bottle of vodka.

Turning back to Ril Missy feigned her most innocent expression, her smile unnaturally warm as she slunk towards him with an exaggerated sway of her hips, diamond held out in front like a lure as she watched Ril's eyes glaze over with greed. "Oh I am sure we can…now perhaps we can discuss this somewhere a little more comfortable? Over a drink perhaps and whilst we discuss terms you can tell me exactly where about in this marvellous store is my oscillator?"

-/-


	3. Chapter 3

-/-

"I cannot believe you just did that."

Slipping around the corner and out of sight of the junk shop Osgood finally allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief. There had been no wail of sirens nor any cries of "thief thief" so clearly Missy had probably gotten away with it but that didn't change the principle of the thing.

It was a crime, Missy, The Mistress was a criminal and Osgood was an accessory to that crime. If they were back on earth Osgood could almost picture their mugshots or some grainy CCTV footage appearing on CrimeWatch. Osgood didn't need to try hard to imagine her old boss's reaction to just how low Osgood had fallen after mere weeks in the renegade timelady's company. Kate Lethbridge-Stewart would be disgusted with her, she was a disgrace to UNIT and the high standards her family had always set.

"I'm a criminal." Osgood muttered under her breath under able to hide her sweaty and slightly green expression from Missy who merely rolled her eyes and tutted, striding along the complex tunnel system whilst Osgood remained hidden in her little nook mere moments away from a panic attack.

"I'm going to end up in some alien cell."

"Perhaps but you stand an even better chance of being abandoned in an alien tunnel system." The Mistress countered having realised after a few feet that her pet was being stupid and not following her. Reaching out The Mistress hooked the handle of her umbrella over the top of Skip's buttoned jacket, and proceeded to tow the hyperventilating human after her.

After several turns into an empty tunnel and a trip up a rickety flight of stairs Osgood finally had recovered enough to dig her heels in and demand the answers. Her abrupt stop almost unbalanced The Mistress who paused long enough to glare back over her shoulder.

"Yes Pet? Was there something that really cannot wait?"

"Yes there is!" Osgood insisted stepping up bravely to meet the timelady's bright blue gaze, the one that was both mocking and amused. "Why did you do that? He was prepared to trade..."

"Because I felt like it. Because I wanted to. Because he didn't deserve to have the diamond. Because I don't have to explain myself to you." Missy mocked rolling her eyes. "Look on the bright side Skip at least I didn't kill him!"

"You as good as did." Osgood spluttered. "What was in that drink you gave him?"

"Nothing..." Missy replied innocently fluttering her eyelashes. "Just a little hypervodka...With a wee dash of cybermite..."

"You've turned him into a cyberman? What were you thinking? With all these people down here they don't stand a chance! We have to tell the authorities we have to get people ou..." Osgood all but screeched only for the iron grip of the timelady to reach out and clamp over her mouth and pushed her back roughly into the stairwell railings.

"That would sort of undermine the point Skip. Stop being such a goody two shoes." Missy sighed unable to contain her disappointment, she had honestly thought they were making progress, what good was a companion if they didn't follow the rules you gave them and ignored those issued by others.

"Besides I didn't turn him into a cyberman, those mites have been customised merely too incapacitate the nervous system and remove any memory of yours truly...of course I have never tested them on a Mentor before so that might account for the funny discharge and screaming..."

Pressing Osgood back against and over the stairwell railing, Missy felt the usual thrill of excitement as the human's pulse suddenly jumped. Her single heart now pounding wildly in her chest almost made a familiar sound to the timelady's ears...almost but the rhythm was still a little too off to be normal.

Balancing precariously on the railing edge Osgood could feel her hands flapping desperately in open air. The firm weight of Missy's body against her stomach and the timelady's hand over her mouth were the only things keeping her grounded and there was something distinctly unsettling about the wide eyes and growing smile as Missy pressed against her that made Osgood swallow uncomfortably.

"Skip I am prepared to be lenient." Missy hissed warningly drinking in the expression and scent of fear from her human that was like a fine wine to a connessieur. "What with this being your first trip and all but you have to remember I am a timelord I don't answer to anyone. I do what I want and the galaxy just has to make room."

Unable to speak Osgood had to settle for glaring her outrage and trying regain control of her fear...she wasn't going to fall...she wasn't going to...Missy wasn't going to push her...she just got off on frightening people.

"Now Pet." Missy cooed savouring the lingering tang of fear and the greater warmth of the human body. "Are you going to be a good girl for Mummy, can I take my hand away?"

Nodding once sharply Osgood took a deep breath the moment Missy removed her hand, even the stuffy barely filtered air that was down in these caves was preferably to having to struggle to breathe through a hand gagging you. Now able to lean back up Osgood grabbed the metal railing, her fingers tightening on it until her knuckles turned white. She didn't dare turn and look back down at the drop, after her experience on the Nethersphere even if it hadn't been a real fall Osgood still couldn't stand even the thought of heights.

"See you can make sensible decisions." Missy gloated tracing her fingernails in a light rasp across Osgood's cheek and then teasingly over her nude parted lips. Savouring the colour that rose to the girls cheeks at the suggestive touch and the way Osgood suddenly couldn't meet her gaze Missy waited before rapping her pet firmly on the nose. "Don't do it again."

"I am not going to stand idle and silent when I see you doing something wrong." Osgood replied softly and stubbornly, not caring when Missy scowled and dug her fingernails into the soft flesh of her cheek.

"My conscience is still my own Mistress and I won't let you hurt innocent people..."

"Innocent people?" Missy scoffed. "There is no such thing, take you pathetic species, I suppose you think you have the moral right to judge my behaviour? Yet your species has been guilty of some of the worst atrocities in the known universe and all for far more whimsical reasons than I have given."

"I know but that still doesn't give you the right to kill. Not when you don't have to."

"Oh enough of the lectures Skip I can get those from The Doctor if I wanted to listen to them and if he hasn't found one that holds any weight over the thousands of years we have known each other then I doubt you will miraculously stumble across one."

"I wouldn't expect you to change because of anything I could say but I won't change either, I won't lose myself because of you and I won't stand by at let you hurt people." Osgood added swallowing nervously as The Mistress smirked and leant closer so that Osgood could smell the minty tang of her breath.

"You arrogant little ape you do not let me do anything!" Missy hissed venomously. "You should be grovelling at my feet in gratitude for even bringing such a primitive little primate out into the big wide universe. I could have left you wallowing on that mud-hole you call a planet."

"I won't grovel, I won't change and you cannot make me Mistress and I may be a primitive primate but at least I know the difference between right and wrong."

"Believe me Pet if I wanted to I could change you, I could make you lose that mind you value you so highly, on a mere whim I could unmake you and remake you in whatever image I fancied. I could strip away every little thing that makes you you and laugh whilst you screamed and then I could make you love me for it." Missy cooed her eyes half lidded as she stroked Osgood's brown hair back from her heart shaped face, running the strands through her fingers gently before twisting her fingers and tugging harshly on the girl's silky locks yanking her head and exposing the long line of her throat as she pressed Osgood roughly back into the balustrade.

"I could make you beg for me to hurt you." Missy added savouring Skip's whimpers and the glassy sheen in those deep brown eyes that looked up at her with such confusion, betrayal and a sliver of something else.

Those verdant red lips were dripping sin and poison and Osgood could only watch mesmerised, shocked by own her own reaction...she didn't...she hadn't liked girls...not like that, no matter how many times Stacie had accused her of being a dyke over the years Osgood had ignored her sister's petty insults. Not that there was anything wrong in liking girls like that but she had always been secure in her own sexuality, she liked boys it was just unfortunate that most of them didn't seem to like her. Yet The Mistress fell into a category all by herself it seemed...

"Would you like that Skip? Is that why you chose me over The Doctor? Because you knew with him you could never reach a fraction of your potential. He takes your pathetic species and fashions them into weapons, you see them as heroes but all they really are are the tools for doing his dirty work. I don't need a tool, I enjoy doing my own dirty work, but I could teach you and train you to be so much more than that Pet."

Shivering as those words slipped seductively into her mind Osgood tried to shake off the spell Missy was weaving. For a moment it almost seemed like her words seemed to echo, like she was hearing them both inside and outside her head.

"I could teach you how to become a god amongst mortals." Missy added savouring the moment of her victory, it was almost too easy, these humans corrupted so easily that it was almost a hollow victory. And she had honestly thought this Osgood was built of sterner stuff...it seemed she was better at picking companions for The Doctor than he was capable of picking himself.

Oh well at least she hadn't wasted too much time or effort on this one and the lovely drop behind them gave her an easy means of disposing of the detritus when she broke her.

Already she could feel the girl's surface thoughts bending to her will, and The Mistress gave them an encouraging push as she delved deeper placing compulsions at strategic points. Pausing for a moment as she skirted a red haze that Osgood's subconscious was desperately trying to hide even now...pausing long enough to unpick it Missy preened slightly at Skip's reluctant attraction. It almost made her worth saving, yet The Mistress had no interest in a thrall in her bed no matter how pretty.

"All you have to do is give yourself over to me, let me teach you, let me mould you..."

The press of the timelady's body against her own, the soft caress of her breath on her face and her fingers in her hair, gently stroking one minute and roughly tugging the next, was too much. It was like slowly drowning and staring up at the sky refracted through the water, knowing that you had to swim up or die and yet struggling to find the energy or the will. It just sounded so good...her Mistress wanted her to let go...and Osgood wanted please her Mistress...wait no that wasn't right...

"Relax...Just let go Pet." Missy's voice was low and seductive against her ear and Osgood couldn't suppress the shiver that ran through her as Missy released her hair and encouraged her to lean back...caressing her shoulders lightly, running her hands down over her sides, indulging the girl's unspoken plea with a light pass over her breasts before dropping to Osgood's hands.

Stroking her fingers gently Missy prised them loose one by one, resisting the urge to sing that little earth rhyme about the piggy's and the market, before pushing back on her shoulders.

"Trust me." Missy's voice echoed sounding suddenly distant and Osgood felt herself frowning, her mind suddenly breaking the surface of the water allowing her to draw in a deep breath just as The Mistress stepped back and Osgood could feel the cold flow of air against the nape of her neck.

"No." Osgood realised the moment before, her hands reaching out and grasping for a handhold the moment she felt herself begin to fall.

Her nails dug into velvet. Her legs locked around a synched waist and yet that merely delayed the inevitable, the scream was ripped from her throat as the darkness of the cave loomed up at her. Her high pitch squeal joined by the throaty growl of the timelady who she had dragged over the railing with her. One thought ridiculously prominent in her thoughts, that if by some miracle they survived this Missy was going to kill her.

-\\-


	4. Chapter 4

Apologies for the delay in service I've been on my travels...normal updates should now be resumed.

-\\-

It was a wet landing, yet it was a landing and for this alone Osgood was thankful. Somehow Missy had used her umbrella to slow their descent but if it hadn't been for this mud pool there would have still been some broken bones…

"When I get my hands on you Skip you are going to wish your mother had smothered you at birth!"

Come to think of it there still might be, either that or wringed necks and Osgood wasn't simply going to hang around and find out. Yet the idea of moving was far easier than the reality. The mud was thick and heavy and Osgood was struggling not to panic, thrashing about would only make things worse that much she knew but Osgood wasn't sure what was worse drowning quickly or slowly?

"And then I might find a way to resurrect you just so I can have the pleasure of killing you again!"

At least their mud bath of death was warm, compared to her previous death and near death experiences Osgood had to admit this was probably the most pleasant… That had to be the special mud at work, hadn't The Mistress mentioned it had stress relieving properties, it was almost as though all the cares and concerns were being slowly drained out of her and were it not for The Mistress's ranting Osgood could almost be tempted to lay back and relax, she certainly wasn't going to thrash about futilely like the timelady was.

"Another outfit ruined, do you have any idea how it takes to have one of these made? No of course you don't you just throw on whatever smells least offensive in the morning…"

It was just a shame she couldn't really see very much, the rocks down here seemed to give off an almost luminous glow, and the scientist in Osgood ached to see if it was a natural property or if there was some sort of organic growth like the luminous moss that grew on earth unfortunately Osgood's glasses had once again not survived her adventure. They were probably down here somewhere, at the bottom of a pool probably. It should bother her more as without her glasses Osgood had to squint to see anything and even then it had to be practically under her nose…perhaps she should have taken advantage of the Tardis's superior medbay when she had the chance after all the first thing Seb had insisted on was having his vision fixed?

Yet Osgood had resisted at the time, perhaps it was in an effort to distance herself from Seb's obvious vanity? The former A.I. had made such a fuss about being forced into a defective human form because of Osgood's squeamishness that The Mistress had caved into his pleading just to shut him up. Yet Osgood had resisted when she had been offered the same, her glasses were part of her, part of the old her just like her ink stained lab coat and preference for comfortable if "unflattering" clothing.

Honestly who would have thought a computer programme would have such an interest?

Yet it seemed when Missy had programmed Seb as well as filling him with essential skills such as how to process and organise she had clearly corrupted his code with all manner of rubbish. The A.I. equivalent of Joan Rivers with all the scathing critique to match, there was rarely a day that went past without him managing to find some new fault to insult. Between his little digs and Missy's threats it was a wonder Osgood had managed to last this long…

Only…Only…it was suddenly quiet…Osgood had gotten so good over the last few weeks of tuning out Missy's running diatribe of threats that it had taken her far too long to realise that they had stopped, that everything had stopped…and just like that the unnatural feeling of calmness and contentment evaporated.

"Missy?" Osgood called out, managing somehow to propel her body slightly through the gelatinous mixture to turn and squint and the timelady.

"Mistress?" Osgood tried again, her concern growing when the black blob that she associated with the timelady didn't so much as murmur or twitch.

Now she was really worried, The Mistress was one for games and tricks but never ones that would make her appear vulnerable. The memory of that moment on the Nethersphere when the timelady had tripped and then had stared out into the darkened city like she had seen a ghost was the only time Osgood could recall seeing that mask fall even a fraction. Having no other choice Osgood took a deep breath and did her best to push herself in Missy's direction, her fingers flailing slightly as they tried to push through the heavy mud that seemed to want to drag her down.

Somehow she managed the reach the timelady but as her fingers made contact with her Osgood almost pulled away in shock. Instead of the thick and seemingly harmless gelatinous gloop that seemed determined to coat every available inch of Osgood's own body Missy was almost set solid the mud encasing her like a shell… even running her hands up Osgood encountered the hardening crust over the curve of her face…over her mouth…even…

Out…Out they had to get out!

The directive seemed to come from her gut at the same time as it echoed in her head and Osgood searched around squinting in the dim light for anything for anywhere to escape to before her eyes alighted on the Mistresses umbrella half submerged in the mud. Flailing for the item Osgood managed to grasp the handle on the second attempt. Running her fingers along the slippery handle Osgood began to randomly press and twist the dials set into the handle. The Mistress had never let Osgood examine it before but Osgood could only hope the principles were similar to The Doctor's sonic screwdriver which UNIT urban legend suggested had some sort of psychic connection available.

Please we need to get out…out!

Doing her best to keep hold as the device hummed then sparked before shooting out a deadly jet of flame from the tip that scorched the mud and almost had her drop the deadly device out of shock. Of course The Mistress would have to build something lethal but right now it was Osgood's best option and with shaking hands she tried to keep hold of it and Missy. Yet as the device sparked and shot flames Osgood suddenly felt herself sinking…the mud was moving…it was retreating…and growing…

The tide of mud that was shifting back from the flames was building like a crest of a wave…no not a wave…It surged up in the middle like a molten pillar that seemed to shift and sway as if dancing away from the flames. It was almost mesmerising like a swaying cobra.

Finally able to put her feet down on something that felt like solid rock Osgood dragged Missy's deadweight along with her, feet weighed down and already tired tripped over the steep uneven surface and Osgood landed heavily on her knees dropping both Missy and the Umbrella which stopped shooting flames the moment it fell from her grasp, sliding back down the slope. The moment the flames were extinguished the pillar of mud surged towards them, Osgood scrambled to her feet hefting the now almost stone like Missy with all of her strength up the last few remaining feet, trying to keep ahead of the returning tide of mud and the central pillar that reached out ahead…reaching grasping…the rippling shape recognisable even to Osgood's terrible eyesight.

A hand…malformed and slipping as if melting and reforming…stunted and crude like a child's first attempt and modelling…each time changing…refining…this time fingers formed grasping and reaching for them and Osgood couldn't even find the breath to scream.

It was alive…whatever it was and it wanted them…or at least it wanted Missy.

Somehow finding the strength for one last push Osgood pushed them up and over the edge of the pool's crater, rolling with the statue like form of The Mistress she could hear the rush of the oncoming tide her hands instinctively coming up to cradle her head as she took a deep breath. However instead of the crushing weight of the mudslide there was a sudden roar and heat that caused her skin to prickle and the remnants of mud that still clung to her skin to sizzle and burn to ash.

After what seemed like forever being trapped under a blanket of bright flame the onslaught suddenly ceased and Osgood raised her gasping head, eyes blinking as black spots moved in front of her poor vision she was able to make out two figures before her vision began to swim in earnest. It suddenly felt as though she had run a marathon, her body had not a drop of energy left in it and with the heat and lack of oxygen as well Osgood could feel her mind shutting down despite her best efforts to stay awake.

Her last thought as the shadowy figures seemed to draw closer was that they had come to help, they had saved them, so surely that made them the good guys? Didn't it?

-/-


	5. Chapter 5

id:10983970  
-/-

Now this was heaven.

Turning this way and that Seb admired his reflection in the 180 degree mirrors that surrounded him. The tailored suit fitted his new body perfectly and Seb couldn't resist running his hands over the slightly silky fabric, the reflective sheen was of the result of the Maldorian spider silk that had been added to the wool mix. On his tall youthful frame with his dark colouring the grey suit was a perfect fit and Seb preened slightly under the attention.

Already he had met such nice people in the gentleman's outfitters, the talented and kindly owner and the amusing older gentleman who had appeared at some point during his fitting and had spent considerable time helping Seb to pick out the things that would suit him best. Let The Mistress waste her time trying to educate that intellectually stumped ape she insisted on dragging along with them. Seb didn't care…he didn't need Osgood's help or The Mistress's approval…he had found new friends, friends who appreciated him and didn't seem to mind that he currently didn't have the money to pay for his purchases.

There were other means by which he could compensate them apparently.

Money such a very human concept that Seb had been quite confused at first until his new friends had explained things to him, people were paid in exchange for their work, a novel idea that had Seb smarting over the fact that The Mistress owed him years of back pay in exchange for his never ending servitude on the Nethersphere. Yet Seb doubted he would receive a single credit from her. Still at least he had gotten his own body out of it and Seb suspected that would be payment enough in The Mistress's eyes. She had never truly appreciated everything that he had done for her.

Who else could have kept a data server full of billions of disorderly human minds in order?

Could have managed and processed their transition into the Nethersphere and their transformation into the required format for cyber conversion?

Not The Mistress…well she could have but she wouldn't that was what she had built him for after all, she only bothered to deal with things in person when it came to people that had met him…The Doctor…the only other constant in Seb's existence had been the other timelord.

Not that The Doctor had any knowledge of it of course but Seb had been watching The Doctor's timeline since the time of his creation and with The Mistress travelling up and down The Doctor's timeline collecting her souvenirs that was a lot of life to process. Back when he had been a simple A.I. interface Seb had risen to the challenge of dealing with the chaotic fallout of The Doctor's adventures, it had been a different challenge to the routine of the Nethersphere, and over time as his programme developed in complexity and absorbed the nuances from interacting with humans over the centuries he had begun to look forward to it.

In some ways Seb found himself missing his voyeuristic viewing of The Doctor's adventures. He had naively assumed that traveling in the Tardis with The Mistress would be similar, yet after a month drifting in the time vortex with not even the minutia of running the Nethersphere to keep him busy Seb had discovered the worst facet of being human…boredom… Only tormenting Osgood had brought him any relief and that was a sure sign of how low things had sunk.

It was so nice to be off of the Tardis.

It was so nice that somebody appreciated him for a change, paid him attention and valued him…

"If you will just press your thumb here that will make everything legal and above board?" The tailor spoke up startling Seb who had for a moment been so engrossed that he had quite forgotten he wasn't alone. "The contract is quite straightforward an exchange of labour in payment for the goods."

Nodding enthusiastically Seb could barely tear his gaze away long enough from his reflection to press his thumb to the little device, wincing slightly when it bit into the pad of his digit and took a DNA sample to go alongside with his finger print. He was still unaccustomed to these unpleasant sensations like pain that came along with having a body.

"So what exactly is that you would like me to do?" Seb finally got around to asking, already his mind running through the possibilities.

"I really am quite experienced in all forms of organisational structuring and…" He paused a smile gracing his features as he rocked on his heels and feigned modesty… "I really am brilliant when it comes to code."

Smiling the tailor slipped the identification device back in his pocket, his amiable grandfatherly expression slipping, his sharp blue eyes glinting with appreciation as he took a moment to admire his latest acquisition. There were just so many possibilities…

"Oh don't worry I am sure we will find something useful for you to do."

-/-

"I still say we sell them."

Those were not the most auspicious words to hear upon returning to the land of the living. Yet she was still alive, the dry and strong chemical, almost gun powdery smell that was stinging her nose confirmed that and to be honest Osgood had woken up in worse situations. Remaining in her prone position Osgood opened her eyes a fraction, squinting out from beneath mud clumped eyelashes to try and make out her new companions.

"Are you offering to show your head above ground? You'd be dead before you so much as started to haggle…Besides you know that Navis I will never agree…"

"I wasn't planning on asking for his approval."

It was two men, or at least they sounded male to Osgood's limited understanding, yet considering she didn't even know what species they were making a sweeping statement as to their sex was already stretching her credibility a little too far. Without her glasses it was difficult to make out little more than their outlines by the small campfire they had going. One was decidedly bigger than the other, well taller at least as what the smaller figure lacked in height he seemed to make up for in circumference.

"Besides it's not like anyone else even knows they are here." The slightly smaller and rounder blob continued on persuasively. "And it's all very well Navis and his morals but morals don't keep people fed…"

"Trust this to be about your stomach …"

"I am trying to make a point here Trac even androids need fuel." The rounder blob complained at having been interrupted. "It's all well and good starting a revolution and having all these moral standards but they only last as long as the next meal, soon enough there will be anarchy, and well if a few underhand things have to happen to keep people from revolting…"

"People could get dizzy following your logic Prospector." Trac snorted leaning back against the cave wall. "Look I see what you are trying to say but think practically, neither of us can show our faces above ground after that little misunderstanding of yours with the Mentors, that's why we came down here in the first place remember. Navis gave us a place to lie low and until we are able to leave then I suggest we play by his rules."

"Fine but I am not carrying them." Prospector huffed. "After all what is the point of having an assistant and doing the heavy lifting yourself?"

"Oh I don't think we need to worry about that…Do we?" Trac commented his head tilting to the side and Osgood's breath caught in her throat as what looked like glowing eyes turned to study her. "Perhaps you would care to join us rather than lie there pretending to be unconscious?"

Caught out Osgood could only admit defeat, crawling onto her hands and knees her gaze immediately swung around for The Mistress, relieved when the timelady was present albeit still encased in mud and unconscious. Someone had managed to clear the mud from Missy's face at least and Osgood managed the short distance before sinking down beside the time lady, hands searching for any sign of life. The subtle teasing of breath against her fingertips had Osgood sighing in relief…she was alive.

"Missy." Osgood whispered resting her hand on the timelady's mud encrusted shoulder and shaking her lightly yet there was no response. "Come on you can nap later."

"She's a strong one." Trac commented, unfolding his tall frame from his place by the fire and shuffling over to join them. "Most of them would be dead by now."

"Most of whom?" Osgood demanded squinting as she tried to make out his face, unlike his companion it was human looking; the only unnatural feature was those eyes that seemed to glow in the low lighting.

"You know most people consider it polite to thank their rescuers and introduce themselves before demanding answers." He retorted sarcastically before adding. "I'm Trac by the way and that is my boss Prospector and you are?"

Blushing slightly in embarrassment Osgood had to admit he had a point. "Osgood and this is The Mistress."

"So you are a slave then?" Trac commented. "I suspected as much…"

"I am not a slave." Osgood retorted hotly. "What is it with this planet and slavery?" She added rhetorically.

"But you said she was your Mistress…"

"That's just her name." Osgood sighed rubbing her forehead to try and push away her growing headache. "Look I'm sorry it's complicated I am grateful for your help back there." She added ignoring Prospector's snort of derision. "Please just tell me what's wrong with her?"

"She's been immersed that's what is wrong with her." Prospector replied as if it was obvious then reading the blank look on Osgood's face he continued gesturing towards The Mistress with one of his clawed fingers. "She's a telepath."

"Yes so what…"

"And you're not." Trac continued for his boss who seemed to find having to explain anything too irritating for words. "That's why it ignored you and targeted her."

"What ignored me? The Mud?!"

"That is more than just mud girl." Prospector sneered his mottled green face contorting. "It's a living organism fuelled by psionic energy. The Mentors found a way to harness it, they use it in their famous baths to drain all the negative energy out of their clients and then they dump the waste product down into the bowels of this planet. Only now it has a taste for it and a particular fancy for telepaths of any species."

"Put it like this...If you have a choice between something bland that you can eat every day or your favourite foods which do you chose? Well in this case you're the bland and she's the house special." Trac added gesturing with his thumb towards the comatose Missy. "Her being in that pool with you probably saved your life."

Swallowing down a hard lump that appeared in her throat Osgood forced herself to focus. There would be time up to weight up whether Missy's inadvertent saving of her life at all counterbalanced the premeditated attempt on it later. Right now Osgood had to focus on the essentials like needing The Mistress compos mentis in order to fly the Tardis out of this hell hole.

"But we got out, and then you drove it away, so she is going to be fine…right?"

Shrugging Trac rose back to his full height. "I don't know but she is still alive. I haven't heard of anyone being immersed like that and surviving but then we haven't been here that long. If anyone would know Navis would."

"Then can you please take us to Navis?" Osgood pleaded shifting her gaze between the cool and composed Trac and his prickly boss who merely sneered at her.

"It won't do any good we'd be better off just leaving her behind."

"Please?" Osgood replied. "I am sure there is something we will be able to trade, if Navis can save her…"

"If…If…We don't trade in If's girl." Prospector sniffed. "I doubt there is anything you can offer that would inter…"

"We can get you off this planet." Osgood retorted bluntly. "Anywhere you wanted to go in the universe." She added watching as Prospector's tensed and he leaned forward allowing her a better glimpse of his face, and then Osgood suddenly realised why he was so familiar looking. The green skin, the prominent facial bumps, the claws, they stood out even in the comprehensive UNIT archives or aliens who had attempted to take over the Earth.

"Even back to Urbanka…" She added slyly knowing then that she had him.

"That's half way across the galaxy girl so unless you have faster than light drives…"

"Oh it's not my ship it's hers." Osgood replied gesturing to The Mistress. "And believe me it can take you back, she can take you back but only if Navis can save her life otherwise we're all stuck here."

"That sounds like a rather precarious proposition…if this mythical ship of yours even exists, if she even survives long enough to reach Navis and if he is able to help her." Prospector sneered before catching Trac's glare and he toned his displeasure down to mere disinterest. "Fine fine but the two of you can carry her. Honestly all this manual labour is playing havoc with my systems; I will need a whole body overhaul if we ever make it back home."

Nodding his agreement Trac knelt down and lifted the mummified timelady as if she weighed very little, a considerable feat considering the timelady's greater natural density and her mud shroud. Standing on her own wobbly feet Osgood moved to stand by The Mistress's shoulder, her hand reaching out and resting against the exposed skin as she tried to focus on sending some sort of message to the timelady.

Hang on we'll get you out of there

-/-

It was almost amusing such optimism.

It was one of the things The Mistress had always detested about the human race, their inability to bloody well give up…it was particularly annoying when you were the one trying to take over their planet and the pesky little ants continued to fight back even when there was no hope left to him…especially when it normally gave The Doctor time to swoop in and save them.

Not that she would mind it if the sanctimonious timelord would appear now and do some saving. Only no that particular heroic trait only applied to people who weren't of his species.

Gritting her mental teeth The Mistress glared at the mental walls that she had hastily erected, focusing her loathing of The Doctor's double standards at the barriers and the force that lurked outside them hammering against her defences. She had gotten sloppy. Had allowed her irritation at Osgood throwing off her suggestions and them both over the railing to distract her so she hadn't realised she was under attack until it was almost too late.

It was strong…it was many…and she was one…and she was trapped.

Curling up tightly inside herself Missy tried to ignore the fleeting feeling of reassurance that Skip's touch had imparted, she had been so alone, trapped unable to move or to sense anything save the steady passage of time….No that wasn't entirely true…she may not be able to smell or see or hear or feel but she could sense something…something that made her stomach turn and almost wish for the return of the drumbeat.

Crying…soft and low but ever present…Whimpering…sobbing…reaching out to her for some reason she couldn't fathom.

She had tried screaming at it, ignoring it, talking to it, pleading with it but nothing seemed to change, nor did the lingering knowing feeling.

Perhaps it was The Doctor? Perhaps it was past echoes of herself? Perhaps she finally going irreversible insane?

Trapped in her own head hearing voices, if it wasn't so pathetic she would laugh. All those centuries she had done anything to try and drown out the drums in her own mind. She had built wall after wall to try and keep things in, to smother them, and only now they were gone and her mind was silent she was trapped in her own head trying to keep something out.

With only a human as her ally.

A human she had been trying to kill.

If the bloody psychic mud didn't kill her then The Mistress suspected that the irony just might.

-/-


	6. Chapter 6

-/-

"So where exactly are we going?" Perhaps he should have asked before when they had first left the shop by Seb had been so wrapped in just experiencing the city he really hadn't paid much attention.

The sky had been clear and beautiful shades of orange and red, the sunlight from twin the suns warming his exposed skin and Seb had relished the ability to feel it. It was such a simple sensation one that born humans probably took for granted yet it was the first feeling that Seb could say he unequivocally enjoyed, no draw backs just a wonderful feeling of contentment.

Not that he would ever admit that to another living soul, The Mistress would probably roll her eyes and mock him for it and Osgood…shivering despite the heat Seb couldn't fight the way he body seemed to react to just the thought of Osgood or Skip as the Mistress liked to call her…Osgood would probably look up at him with those large brown eyes of hers and dare to empathise!

Urghh humans and their overdeveloped sentimentality Seb had hoped never to have to deal with them again after the Nethersphere but then The Mistress had to try and compete with The Doctor and now they had a little ape tagging along. An ape his own creator had abandoned him for, well Seb had shown them, he had found new friends…better friends…friends who could appreciate just how special he was…

"Really where are we going?" Seb repeated his long strides easily catching up with the Tailor who was quick on his feet for a man who was crooked and bent with his advancing years. "I hope it is somewhere fun. I haven't been allowed to do anything interesting in ages."

"To see an old friend of mine, he owes me a favour and I think it's high time I claimed it." The Tailor replied with a polite smile that didn't seem to reach his eyes, eyes that seemed to only warm up as his gaze travelled over Seb and the former A.I. felt his human stomach give an unpleasant lurch at the gesture.

It was a very odd feeling and Seb wasn't sure if he was hungry or if this churning sensation was being caused by something else…it was all so confusing.

"Yes high time…he will know just how to make use of you." The old man muttered to himself waving impatiently for Seb to keep up, the A.I. having fallen behind as the hairs on his neck began to prickle as they approached the most ornate building in the entire city, yet instead of the main entrance they seemed to be heading towards guarded side door.

"Master Tailor to see the Overseer." The old tailor informed the blank faced guards who stared down at him for a moment, their ocular implant scanning him over with a blue beam of light before moving on to Seb.

"He's my guest I will take full responsibilities for his… person." The Tailor added chuckling to himself at his little joke. "Look just tell the Overseer I am here." He added before the guards could get their two brain cells in a twist.

A moment later the door was opened and the smug tailor ushered a suddenly nervous Seb through the doors. "Come come we don't have all day the Overseer is very busy."

"Actually I should probably at least contact my friends and let them know where I am." Seb insisted taking a step back only for his way to be blocked by the solid wall of the two guards who had followed him through. "If you will just excuse me for a mo…"

"No I won't." The Tailor replied all pretence of civility dropped now they were safely out of sight. "You signed a contract and you are going to deliver on your end of it."

"Of course but I really do need to tell my friends about our arrangement The Mistress gets very prickly when people keep things from her and when she gets prickly well things tend to explode." Seb explained simply, clearly as sensible as this tailor fellow was in recognising Seb's innate superiority from the rest of the human rabble he clearly still wasn't the brightest. It was never a good idea to piss off a time lord, especially when that time lord was a time lady, and one who was used to getting her own way.

"I thought you said your colleagues didn't appreciate you?" The tailor mocked signalling to the guards to seize Seb before he could escape. "Seems a lot of effort to go through for someone you don't value."

"No but…" Seb paused suddenly uncertain, perhaps he was right, The Mistress had Osgood now a proper human companion, what did she need him for anymore he was just an A.I. interface that had lost the purpose for his creation…he was functionless…pointless…why would they bother to come and look for him much less rescue him?

"I thought as much." The tailor replied smugly turning on his heel and marching deeper into the building a reluctant Seb being frogmarched after him. "I wouldn't worry my boy pretty soon your lack of friends is going to seem so very unimportant Overseer Sil will see to that."

-/-

The camp was not what Osgood had expected. In her head she had pulled together a picture that probably tended more towards the sanitised Hollywood version of a rebels hideout. Yet this was no Sherwood Forest, the rebels were not merry in the slightest in fact they looked at her and more importantly The Mistress with barely disguised fear and hostility. It was when the beggar children were actively hurried away by a scrawny looking woman that Osgood couldn't restrain herself any longer.

"Why are they doing that?" Osgood had never considered herself particularly intimidating before and she certainly was no threat to innocent children. "Why are they hiding?"

The Prospector's snort didn't provide her with any answers so Osgood turned to the silent but steady Trac who at least helped her carry The Mistress back to Navis's encampment. "Why are they afraid of us?"

"Not of us, of you…of her…" Trac replied simply before turning his glowing eyes to study the confused human. "You're like them but you're not, you're obviously too well fed to be a slave…"

"Are you saying I'm fat!" Osgood hissed cheeks flushing in indigent rage, she may not starve herself like her sister did to maintain a fashionable figure, nor be as naturally slender as The Mistress but that did not make her…

"You're not starving like they are." Trac clarified. "Not a lot of food down here, only what they can scavenge from the waste units…It makes me very grateful to be an android."

"Oh I see." And she did and this time Osgood felt the bloom of shame in her cheeks. "Sorry."

"I do not understand why you are apologising?" Trac prodded. "You didn't starve them did you?"

"Well no."

"And you were not responsible for their enslavement?"

"Of course not."

"Then why apologise?" Trac questioned his ageless face creasing in an approximation of a frown.

"Because…because." Osgood spluttered trying to rack her brain for an appropriate answer. Because that's just what you did, it was natural to apologise even when it wasn't really your fault, like when someone else let the door slam and you didn't catch it time before someone else got hit…you weren't to blame but an apology would always spill forth.

"I guess it's just our way of showing empathy. I don't suppose it really does make much sense now I think about it but it's just one of those things you just do, you know?"

"Forgive me it is such a long time since I was organic." Trac replied and Osgood assumed it was his polite way of telling her that he didn't, that she was making no sense but that really it didn't matter it didn't change anything, the others were still going to be afraid of her empathic sorry or no.

"I hope Navis is a little more welcoming." Osgood sighed under her breath yet Trac's superior hearing still caught her words.

"He is not like the others you will see."

Forcing a smile Osgood concentrated her thoughts on being positive, resting her fingertips briefly against the exposed skin of The Mistress's neck, relieved when she could still feel the steady beats of both the time lady's hearts. She had no idea if Missy could even hear her, she knew that time lords were touch telepaths and under normal circumstances her every thought was probably blaring out uncomfortably. Now she wasn't certain if there was enough left of The Mistress to hear her, that there was something left for Navis to save or had they carried Missy here all for nothing?

Closing her eyes and forcing aside her doubts Osgood tried to focus on sending a message.

_Just hold on a little longer please_

Stamping down on the thoughts and feelings that immediately sprang up as her undisciplined brain automatically began to catalogue the consequences of Missy not surviving Osgood tried not to think on them.

She didn't want to end up stranded on a distant world where humans could be bought and sold like cattle, she didn't want to face the failure at being the worst companion a time lord had ever travelled with…one trip…one trip…oh it was pathetic….

Yet more than these selfish fears and concerns she just didn't want Missy to die. There was so much more to the time lady than people suspected, even her tea rules seemed fondly oddly idiosyncratic now. The Mistress was more than just a bogeyman, she was creative and brilliant and terrifying and the only other one left of her kind and she tried so hard at everything she did, even her terrible knitting and if she died now then…

The only other time lord in existence dead because of Osgood; it was like being responsible for the extinction of the Dodo.

Osgood could certainly never face The Doctor, how could she explain how it was her fault his oldest…well enemy probably best described them, although considering after she had seen The Doctor stick his tongue down Missy's throat enemy undoubtedly didn't quite do them justice…was dead.

_He'd probably give you a pat on the back and a place on his Tardis as a reward he was happy enough to keep his latest ape around after she tried to vaporize me_

Startled by sensation of yellow and the impression of leer and sick amusement Osgood felt a shock spark across her fingers and she lifted her fingers automatically out of some sort of protective instinct before her brain took over and she was pressing her fingers back to Missy's cool skin.

_Mistress…Mistress…_

_Honestly Skip stop yelling I already have enough of a headache_

Came the reply and a swirl that felt like green

_Oh thank god you are alright_

Osgood pushed back, her heart beating in her throat as she couldn't contain the feelings of relief and happiness that bubbled up

_God had nothing to do with it Skip and alright is a subjective term but I am…surviving…I'm just…tired…_

Frowning at the image of muddy brown and the sense of evasion that flittered briefly across her mind Osgood could only try to catch it before the feeling was gone and her mind felt empty again, the presence of the time lady absent just as suddenly as she had arrived, only now everything felt muted like the volume had been turned down and Osgood was struggling to hear. It brought uncomfortably flashes of insight, of the few flickers of memory that Osgood still retained of being drawn into The Mistress's mind and of finding herself lost amid the bright cacophony of her thoughts.

Human brains really were boring by comparison. It was a sobering reality to face.

_Mistress?_

_Let me rest Skip…there's a good girl…_

The brown was back only now there was a worrying swirl of black in it and Osgood's breath caught in her throat. What was it the doctors always said about people who were injured, to keep them awake don't let them sleep or they might never wake up again.

_Can't you wake up first?_

It was needy and pathetic and Osgood hated how very young it made her sound, she was supposed to be brave and fearless…a shining companion…yet it was only now becoming clear just how out of her depth at this travelling the universe she was.

_I...I don't know_

Missy's reply surprised Osgood and she felt strangely honoured that the time lady didn't try to hide her uncertainty nor the swirling of silver that now tinged the black brown mix…the silver left the tang of fear on Osgood's tongue and she couldn't contain a shiver of it from racing up and down her spine…What in the known universe could frighten The Mistress?

_Please try_

Osgood no longer cared how she sounded, her fingers reaching out to brush Missy's mud stained hair back from her face as she forced her eyes open to stare down at the comatose figure of The Mistress looking for any sign of life, surprised when another hand was there covering her own, long fingered and grey. Osgood's head shot up and it took all of her UNIT training not to recoil from the sheer alieness of the creature in front of her…Instead of a mouth there were long tentacles and the eyes were glowing red as they bore into Osgood's own.

Forcing herself to not panic and to look past appearances it didn't take more than a few seconds to catch what looked like amusement and compassion in its gaze…or was that just wishful thinking on her part?

"Hello." Osgood managed to stutter watching as the alien tilted its head and its eyes narrowed and twinkled slightly in what looked like amusement yet it didn't reply. "I'm Osgood this is The Mistress and you are?"

"Osgood this is Navis he's an Ood they don't communicate verbally." Trac answered her question and Osgood could only nod along her hope growing as she felt the brush of something against her mind, something warm and reassuring that calmed her racing heart.

"Please help her." Osgood whispered not even flinching as Navis held out his hand for hers and then a moment later deposited what looked like a tiny brain into her open hands before placing both of his palms against Missy's forehead.

Resisting the instinct to squeal like her pathetic squeamish sister Osgood forced herself to smile and carry on like this was normal, like she routinely held another's brain in her hands. Instead she concentrated on The Mistress on the crease of her forehead and the fine clumps of mud that stubbornly clung to her dark lashes, imagining how Missy would curse and fuss when she caught sight of her reflection. The Mistress was particular about her appearance and Osgood couldn't recall seeing the time lady anything other than immaculately put together, no matter what time day or night she bumped into her around the Tardis.

Then suddenly those bright blue eyes were boring into hers as though they had never been closed and it took a moment for it to register.

"Mistress!"

Wincing as Osgood's enthusiastic tone seemed to pierce through the fog Missy felt her senses ring from the over stimulation, the sudden return of light, sound and smell…the rush of emotions from her human companion as Osgood for some reason actually seemed pleased to see her.

"Hush Skip." Missy replied her voice sounding rough and strained to her ears like…like she had been screaming for hours. Her hand reaching out to touch her throat, surprised by the effort it took to lift her arm, it felt like lead and she was as weak as a kitten.

"Well I'll be damned." An exclamation of astonishment came from behind them but Osgood didn't even bother to turn around, instead she kept her brown gaze locked on Missy, surprised when the time lady reached up stiffly to pat her on the cheek.

"No need to cry Skip." Missy teased relieved when her little ape stopped looking like she had done something good and worthwhile and doctorish and instead scowled myopically down at her.

"I wasn't…"

"No need to throw your arms around me and hug me either I wouldn't want to catch anything!"

"At least I could hug you if I wanted to which I don't!" Osgood retorted tartly. "You're liable to crumble to pieces the moment you move."

"Great another outfit ruined." Missy huffed petulantly her blue gaze shifting warily to the group of people that seemed to be edging closer, their expressions something The Mistress was not used to seeing directed towards her.

Not fear…but awe…and hope…what the hell was going on here…where the hell were they…who were all these filthy looking people and why were they looking at her like they were about to start touching her?

Narrowing her bright blue gaze upon a unrepentant Osgood The Mistress forced a polite and yet deadly smile that caused her human to gulp slightly, Osgood knew that look she had seen at least once before and thank goodness The Mistress hadn't had the time to reassemble her disintegrator.

"Skip dear I really do think you have some explaining to do."

-/-


	7. Chapter 7

-/-

"What is this disgusting…" The Mistress could barely stop herself from gagging as she violently pushed the bowl of so called soup away from her, the foul liquid slopping over the sides as she couldn't push it away fast enough.

Scrapping her tongue with her teeth Missy ignored the horrified glare Skip sent in her direction as she sipped politely at her own bowl of bile. "Ewww how can you eat that…it's vile…it tastes worse than Ood snot…It's like Ood snot and piss…"

"Mistress!" Osgood hissed her cheeks flaming bright red as the emaciated girl that had served them seemed to cower in shame, her eyes filling with unshed tears as she hurried out of the cave Navis had lent Missy and Osgood to rest and recover in. "You can't say that."

"Why not? I can say anything I like." Missy huffed before resorting to scraping the foul tasting residue off of her teeth with the sleeve of the ill-fitting rag she had been given to wear whilst one of these pesky little apes tried to get the mud out of her own clothes. "Besides it's not like I was lying, it is disgusting they should be ashamed serving that to guests…"

"They're starving!" Osgood snapped back even as her own stomach gave a sympathetic lurch in The Mistress's favour. "They have probably given you more food than half a dozen of them will get all day so just be grateful."

Stunned by the vehemence in her pet's tone Missy settled for merely frowning and scowling at Osgood's nerve in talking to her like that. Yet it seemed her pet wasn't even close to being housebroken as instead of being cowed in the slightest her ape had the nerve to glare right back at her. Surprisingly it was Missy who broke their little staring competition; there was something uncomfortable about the righteousness in Skip's expression that reminded The Mistress uncomfortably of The Doctor. If that sanctimonious idiot were here he would undoubtedly be giving her the very same look whilst happily slurping up his own bowl of snort and piss flavoured soup.

"It's really not that bad when you get used to it." Osgood offered when the silence being came uncomfortably and The Mistress seemed to have shifted from annoyed to brooding, and a brooding Mistress was a dangerous Mistress who was liable to make something explode just to break the tedium.

Snorting in amusement at her pet's attempt to lie to her of all people The Mistress had to at least give her an A for effort. "Probably because the concentration of Ammonium chloride has irritative action on the bronchial mucosa causing an excess of fluid, by now I doubt your taste buds could tell the difference between that soup and whatever slop you apes normally shovel in."

"Hey you seemed quite content to eat my slop when that meant you didn't have to cook anything!" Osgood snapped setting down her nearly finished bowl next to The Mistress's untouched one.

"I was just being polite Skip."

"You do know the definition of that word?" Osgood snarked back. "Because you might try being so to our hosts, Navis saved your life…"

"No I saved my own life thank you very much." Missy snapped before grudgingly conceding an inch in the face of Osgood's outraged expression. "Fine you might have also had something to do with it…."

"Is that the closest you are going to get to thanking me for getting you out of that mud pool because I can't hear a thank you for saving my life Osgood in that sentence?"

"I wouldn't have been in the pool in the first place if you hadn't dragged me over the railing!"

"And I wouldn't have pulled you over the railing if you hadn't tried to murder me first!" Osgood snapped back, her irritation growing as Missy merely rolled her eyes. "You have to stop doing that, trying to kill me I mean just because I don't agree with you or you get bored or you want to test your latest death toy!"

"They are not toys." Missy grumbled, stretching out her legs and giving her bare toes an experimental wiggle, at least her pedicure had survived the mud bath intact the same could certainly not be said of her manicure and Missy despaired as she took in her mud encrusted fingernails…there was only so much that could be done with a bucket of water and a brush…her hair still felt decidedly stiff and dirty.

"But you don't deny trying to kill me AGAIN!" Osgood retorted an angry flush staining her cheeks as the memories of being trapped against that railing, the hard warm press of Missy's body against hers and seductive whisper of words and thoughts dripping into her mind were shattered by the realisation it was all a trick. "And no more going inside my head without permission!"

Now that was interesting…why that specifically…Ah yes…The smug smile returned to The Mistress's lips and she tilted her head to gaze up at Skip from under lowered lashes. "Why worried about what else I might find lurking about in that sick little head of yours Skip? I mean you've not been getting all excited and touching yourself whilst imagin…"

"SHUT UP!" Osgood all but screamed in her face her fingers reaching out and grasping The Mistress by the rough oversized collar of the homespun nightshirt and pressing her back against the cave wall. "We are NEVER going to talk about that again. You put those thoughts in my head."

"Well if thinking that will help you sleep at night…" Missy sniggered, her pet's sudden outburst and violent behaviour was the most amusing thing Osgood had done in ages.

"But fine if you want to live in denial about your sexual attraction to me then so be it I won't mention it again." She added innocently with a playful pout. "I mean I won't even so much as mention how much you clearly want to push me up against this wall and snog me senseless."

Gritting her teeth Osgood forced herself to uncurl her fingers from Missy's clothing taking a strategic step back and then another and another until she felt the reassuring solid presence of the other wall against her back and then she sank down it until she was seated on the floor. "You are a complete bitch I hope you know that." She muttered.

Allowing her expression to soften slightly and allow a fraction of her growing fondness to show through The Mistress could only nod at Osgood's assessment, better a bitch than a victim. "You know I really wouldn't worry about it Skip I am just special like that, eventually everyone has naughty thoughts about me."

Unable to hide the little huff of laughter Osgood couldn't believe this was The Mistress's idea of consoling someone that the time lady was even bothering to make the attempt was surprisingly touching even if of course everything still revolved about her. "It's not…you don't understand…"

"What don't I understand?" Missy questioned tilting her head like a bird as she studied the way Osgood seemed to sink into herself. "That you think finding me attractive is something to be embarrassed about, that there is something wrong about it? You're right I don't understand, I mean all of The Doctor's little earth girls seem to end up falling for him so why should I be any different?"

"But you're not…" Osgood blushed unable to meet Missy's questioning gaze and so she settled for picking at the cuff of her own borrowed clothing. "I mean apart from the fact that you're psychotic and evil…you're not the same as The Doctor because…because well you're not…"

Frowning in confusion Missy tried to follow the girl's logic, for someone normally so forthright and sensible Osgood was suddenly not making any sense. "Of course I'm the same we're both time lor…" And then it clicked, like a lock turning as The Mistress for the moment stopped looking at things from a time lord perspective and instead overlaid what she knew of human society.

"It's because this form is female? That's it isn't it?" She prodded knowing from the way Skip suddenly turned a delightful shade of red that she had actually hit upon the correct answer. "I didn't realise that you were so bigoted Skip."

"I'm not!" Osgood exclaimed horrified that Missy had drawn that conclusion. "I just didn't…look I spent my whole childhood with my older sister telling all her friends I was gay, they used to call me horrible names and no girl would sit near me in the class without making up stories that I tried to touch them. I couldn't get away from it until I went to University and even now when I go home half the neighbourhood still asks me if I have a girlfriend yet…Not that there would be anything wrong in having a girlfriend if I wanted one…Look it's just not that simple…"

"You were bullied." Missy cut in encapsulating the whole sorry mess in a way that was simple. "They made you feel ashamed and they still do because even though you know they are wrong they are still in your head."

"Yes." Osgood sighed rubbing her hands over her hot cheeks before risking a glance up at The Mistress who had gone very quiet and tense.

"Then you are letting them win."

Sighing Osgood could only nod, "I know…I try to tell myself I don't care, that what they think of me doesn't matter but it still hurts."

"I know." Missy replied surprising herself, then when Osgood actually lifted her head up and turned those large brown eyes of hers up pleadingly she felt a grudging responsibility to continue. "The Doctor and I were not exactly model time lords even as children…I understand what it is like to be different and to be set apart because of it."

"Thank you." Osgood whispered a shy smile pulling at her lips. "You know you're not as horrible as you want everyone to think. I couldn't understand it before, why The Doctor seemed to give you so many chances but…"

"Oh don't go all mushy on me." Missy snorted rolling her eyes at her human. "Just because I am capable of empathising does not mean I am not still totally evil and bent on universal domination and subjugation. Nor does it mean I am not planning on teasing and flirting with you mercilessly until you turn that lovely shade of red again."

"I wouldn't expect anything less Mistress." Osgood sighed wincing when Missy literally preened at the use of her full name.

"Do go on Miss Osgood."

"Oh shut up." Osgood snapped her cheeks flushing in embarrassment yet this time there was no bite to her tone and she could barely bite down on the smile that pulled at her lips.

"You know we could make a quick pitstop back to Earth after we leave here, after I fix my oscillator issue, pay a little visit to those old friends of yours. You could introduce me as your girlfriend and then before they pick their chins off the floor we could disintegrate them together…It would be a lovely first date."

Laughing at the wheedling tone in the time lady's voice Osgood could only shake her head. "As tempting as that sounds I would prefer not to add mass murder to my rap sheet of treason and escaping UNIT custody."

"Shame." The Mistress pouted before her blue eyes turned mischievous. "How about you just introduce me to your sister instead she sounds charming, perhaps the next time she invites you around I can come too. I am sure I can find something just short of murder and torture that should do the trick!"

"Save it for next Christmas." Osgood quipped. "It can be my present."

"Why wait I do own a time machine?"

"Because the anticipation is half the fun." Osgood retorted, blushing furiously as Missy's smirk turned into a leer and the time lady waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Oh dear god are you going to twist everything I say from now on?"

"Probably, or at least until I get bored." Missy replied honestly.

"I shall endeavour to be as dull as possible then."

"Hmm you promised that once before Pet and I ended up taking you on as a companion, I have reason to question whether you are truly being honest with yourself Skip about what you really want."

Assuming it wasn't possible for her to go any redder Osgood was very relieved when a shadow appeared at the entrance to their cave and in stepped Trac, Navis and a small blond child who was holding hands with the Ood.

"I hope you are sufficiently rested." Trac asked politely, his glowing eyes moving over both Osgood and The Mistress before returning to Ood Navis. "Only Navis would like to check there has been no side effects…"

"I am fine." Missy snapped then only after a pointed look from Osgood she added with obvious reluctance. "Thank you for your hospitality and assistance…There happy now?" She added in an aside to a smirking Osgood.

"It'll do."

"I would rather check for myself." The small child spoke and Osgood frowned in confusion.

The Mistress ignored the child; her attention remained locked on the Ood who was staring at her with something akin to avid interest. "I am sure you would but I prefer my mind to remain private."

"There may be damage you are unaware of." The child spoke again, and it took a moment for Osgood to realise that Navis was speaking through her, using her to translate his thoughts into spoken words.

"I am aware of the damage to my shields thank you very much and will attend to them after we get the hell away from this dratted planet; we already have what we came for."

"Don't you mean had." The child repeated as Ood Navis gestured to Trac who removed a handful of items from the bag he was carrying.

"Those are my personal possessions." Missy growled as she saw the blasted android fingering her collection of mementos. "Or are you all just a bunch of common thieves?"

"Then we are in good company, for did you not take this component from Ril the trader without payment?"

There was no denying the Ood had a point and there was no arguing with the facts. Leaning back against the wall her blue eyes narrowing as she bore into the gaze of the amused Ood Navis Missy could only ponder one question. "What do you want?"

Tilting his head Ood Navis dropped his hind brain into the girl's hand, then lifting up both of his own he beckoned The Mistress closer and grudgingly she complied but not before reinforcing her mental shields. At the warm touch of the Ood's hands against her temples she barely managed to conceal a shudder of distaste. Ood were one of the most servile races in the known universe, they were the antithesis of The Mistress and she couldn't help but find them unsettling.

For a moment there was simple the cool brush of his mind, the unusual sensation of two different telepaths aligning their different frequencies to make themselves heard, then it came in a rush of sensation and song and it was all The Mistress could do to stop herself from crying out and breaking the connection.

No…it wasn't possible…They had to be joking…Could the Ood even joke…They had to have the wrong person…The Doctor…they must have meant him it was right up his ally…not her…she wasn't…she couldn't…

She was The Mistress destroyer of worlds and bringer of death she was nobody's saviour.

-/-


	8. Chapter 8

-/-

So this was fear. If he was being honest Seb could have skipped this particular part of gaining a flesh shell.

In some ways it was fascinating to catalogue…the acceleration in his breathing and the way his heart now seemed to pound, the constriction of the peripheral blood vessels leading to the burning in his cheeks and down across his neck and chest. The increase in muscle tension causing the muscles attached to each hair follicle to contract and initiating Seb to the unpleasant sensation of "goose bumps". Then of course there was the sweating which was going to ruin his newly tailored suit. The increasing levels of blood glucose and serum calcium now pumping around his system, causing this almost hyper state of alertness and dyspepsia, otherwise known as the swooping swirling storm of butterflies currently fluttering away like mad in his stomach.

He supposed being tied to an examination table whilst being prodded poked and scanned would do that to anyone.

"Not a bad specimen…His reactions are within normal limits…But why a human? They aren't anything special, no interesting traits or features and their lifespan…" His examiner scoffed at a private joke as he folded away the examination tool he had been using to prod parts of Seb with.

Biting down on his tongue Seb decided that now probably wasn't the time to voice his opinion that the odious little slug creature in front of him had a nerve criticising him. At least his flesh shell didn't ooze like that or emit that unpleasant smell.

"You know how I like to try new things and he is so delightfully tall." The Tailor replied returning to Seb's field of vision to stand beside the Overseer.

"Yes well your tastes have always been peculiar brother." The Overseer sighed before waving forward his slaves to come and pick up his chair. "I should be able to fit you in for the procedure later today…I have some pressing business with the head of the below ground business guild first, it seems one of their more influential of their number traders has been found…well mutilated is probably the most accurate description. It is always so tedious having to sort out these little problems."

"Excuse me what procedure are we talking about exactly?" Seb couldn't contain his question nor the way the butterflies in his stomach seemed intent on fluttering around like they were trying to escape out of his throat.

"Did that creature just speak to me?" The Overseer seemed to balk in disgust.

"I'm afraid so." The Tailor replied. "He has an annoying propensity to do that, honestly I thought he was never going to shut up. You know how some clients can be, on and on about everything like I care to hear about their problems. Still it had some unexpected benefits…"

"He is legally yours though? I don't want any repercussions like on Solus Prime…"

"Signed and sealed." The Tailor insisted producing the tablet that Seb had pressed his thumb to. "See the idiot signed himself over and all to pay for a suit."

"You lied to me!" Seb exclaimed hotly, dark eyes boring into the Tailor's smug gaze. "You told me I could work for you to pay for it."

"You should have read the small print it's all there in Black and White, I gain property of you until you have paid off your debt to me. Of course there it will be a little difficult to pay off anything when you are transferred and sent to the mines on Kessick, I doubt you will last the trip there let alone live long enough to pay off the debt." The Tailor joked. "Then of course all remaining assets will belong to me in payment for your outstanding debt, including that young body of yours."

"No…you can't do that!" Seb protested tugging against his restraints. "I only just got this body you can't have it!"

That got their attention as the Overseer now returned to peer at him, suddenly vastly more interested. "What do you mean? Were you transferred…How…by whom…who has stolen my research?"

"No one." Seb insisted recoiling as the slug like alien seemed to excrete faster when angry and the mucus like substance dripped onto the fine fabric of his suit ruining the finish. "I don't know anything about your research I swear."

"You will tell me everything or I will start putting holes in you." The Overseer hissed, poking Seb with the sharp pointy end of his medical device.

"Careful that body is mine brother remember, I would rather it came hole and scar free."

Huffing the Overseer leaned back against his thronelike chair his dark beady eyes trained on Seb. "Fine prep him for immediate extraction, my business with the guild can wait." Then leaning forward once more he licked his lips with what could only be described as sadistic glee as he met Seb's gaze. "Then we can start getting some proper answers out of you."

-/-

"Won't you just stop!" Breathing heavily as she tried to keep up with the pacing time lady Osgood once again cursed her long hours in the lab and general disdain for any sort of exercise that wasn't mental.

"Missy please you don't even know where you are going!" Osgood panted out as The Mistress showed no sign or stopping or even slowing down. "There could be anything out there; do you really want to come face to face with another one of those mud monsters?"

There…that at least caused the time lady to pause allowing Osgood to catch up with her and finally catch sight of Missy's face, the open look of panic and distress that creased her face caused Osgood to start with surprise.

"Are you alright…"

"Do I look alright?" Missy questioned her voice dripping with deep bitter sarcasm as she turned her ire on her human companion. It didn't matter that logically none of this was Skip's fault; she had brought her there to those people…to that thing.

Picking at the hideous outfit that still clung to her dirty dishevelled frame Missy curled her lip in disgust as she waved her hand around their less that attractive surroundings. "Go on tell me I have never looked better."

"No you look…" Osgood paused deciding how brutally honest to be before settling on something close to the truth. "You look like someone just died."

Biting down on her lip The Mistress suddenly couldn't meet her pet's gaze.

"Was that it? What was it he said that caused you to…to…" Run away scared like a little girl. The last part of that sentence wisely remained inside her head as The Mistress's resulting glare could have set water alight.

"We will never speak of that creature or his ridiculous notions again." Missy insisted. "We are going to return to the surface, find Seb and get the hell out of here."

"Without the oscillator?" Osgood prodded the time lady.

"I can find another…"

"What about that diamond you were so determined to hang on to?" Osgood countered reaching out hesitantly she laid a nervous hand on Missy's arm, relieved and amazed when she wasn't immediately shaken off like some annoying disgusting clinging thing. "And do you even have your tardis key?"

The sudden tremor that ran through Missy's frame was answer enough to that and Osgood could feel her heart sink into her stomach. So they were stuck here unless…

"Dammit fine we'll go back but only so I can get my things." Missy spat turning back on her heel and dragging Osgood back along with her. "Then we are leaving."

"Was it so very terrible what he showed you?" Osgood panted, tugging on Missy's arm to try and get her to slow down to a normal pace.

"It was impossible." Missy hissed her face abnormally pale without any flush in her cheeks or her usual verdant red lipstick. "He expects me to save them all…Me?" She scoffed shaking her head before turning to gaze at Osgood's curious yet uncensored face.

"Do I look like anybody's saviour to you?" Missy snorted rolling her eyes at the universe's latest joke at her expense. "I don't save I destroy, I don't liberate I conquer. That is who I am and not even The Doctor can persuade me to change, what chance do an Ood and a bunch of illiterate nobodies have? I am The Mistress I do not make things better, that is The Doctor's job not mine!"

"I think you are capable of being anything you want to be." Osgood replied softly. "That you don't have to be defined by your past or other people."

"Please spare me Skip. I like who I am why on Gallifrey would I want to change? It is only other people that have a problem with me, I like myself just fine the way I am!"

Resisting the urge to sigh Osgood could only force her expression to remain blank and non-judgemental yet clearly she wasn't doing that good a job as Missy's expression soured.

"And I am not changing for you either Skip before you dare to ask it."

"Believe me Mistress I know that. I knew that when I agreed to travel with you but I reserve the right not agree with your choices."

"Yes I believe we have been over this Skip ad nauseum." The Mistress groaned before flicking off Osgood's restraining hand as they came in sight of the makeshift little camp and she paused at the sight of the people that instead of hiding like before seemed to throng about in huddles. "None of which solves our particular problem."

"Which I might be able to help with if you would tell me something." Osgood retorted brown eyes narrowing in growing frustration. "Believe me I have no desire to spend the rest of my limited dull human lifespan stuck living in a cave. So tell me what he wanted perhaps I can help?"

Snorting in amusement at that thought The Mistress almost congratulated Skip on her joke before she caught sight of the irritated expression her ape was sporting. "Oh you were serious?"

"I know you think I have the intelligence of a mollusc Mistress but for a human I am quite smart…"

"For a human I suppose you are." Missy teased, reaching out to pat her pet's cheek with something approaching affection or amusement, she never could discern between the two, emotions were a tricky thing.

"It is quite ridiculous really, just because I managed to not die when that creature tried to suck out my psionic energy that suddenly makes me their chosen one, or saviour or liberator." Missy waved her hands dismissively. "The translation is a little difficult, Ood telepathy is based on something more like poetry or music, it has an annoying tendency to not be very precise…Anyway he travelled here with a group because they heard a telepathic cry for help or something, stupid reason to travel halfway across the galaxy."

Frowning Osgood nodded along following Missy's jumping explanation so far. "But what happened to the others?"

"The Mentors happened." Missy replied wrinkling her nose in disgust. "That trader Ril was one of them, repugnant little creatures."

"Was? Mistress I thought you said the cybermites wouldn't kill him?"

Shrugging innocently The Mistress fluttered her eyelashes. "Well I've never used them on that species before who knows what effect they might have. Honestly Skip stop trying to change the subject I thought you wanted to know what Navis told me?"

Pushing aside that topic for another time Osgood had no choice but to let Missy continue. "Fine."

"The Mentors took the Ood captive of course; I mean why waste a perfectly good slave race when you supplement your income trading in humanoids. They used them in the spa facilities at first cleaning up the pools after a client had finished, then the accidents started…little things at first, an Ood would go missing and then turn up apparently drowned at the bottom of a mud bath. Suicide the Mentors claimed it's not exactly uncommon among slaves. They separated the Ood from each other so that it didn't start a trend but they still kept dying. Then it wasn't just the Ood, the odd client would be found dead as well."

"That is horrible." Osgood exclaimed. "It was the mud wasn't it? Trac said something about it attacking telepaths if there was a choice available, that's why it went after you instead of me."

"Yes one of the few occasions when being human actually has some benefit." The Mistress retorted tartly, smirking as Osgood glared at her in reply. "The so called accidents apparently occurred more frequently in the pools that had been in use the longest, so what do you think The Mentors did? Investigate properly? Issue warnings to their patrons?"

"Dumped the waste and covered it up?" Osgood guessed and Missy favoured her with a pleased smile and a patronising pat on the head. "It wasn't that difficult to work out Mistress, I suppose that was the pool that we fell into then, dumped waste."

"Probably." Missy replied biting her bottom lip and chewing it thoughtfully her blue eyes narrowing as she caught sight of the groups of escaped slaves that now were congregating expectantly. "Well this is going to make things interesting…Stay close we are going to get our things and leave I only hope for their sakes they do not attempt to stop me."

"Looks like the news has gotten around." Osgood muttered glancing across at The Mistress. "I would have thought you would love this…having people worship you I mean."

"No." Missy shook her head her face unusually serious. "Fear me, respect me, despise me even but don't ever love me…" The Mistress paused her voice dropping to barely a whisper as she stepped forward not checking to see if Osgood would follow, simply assuming she would. "Love kills more people than anything else."

-/-

It was disorienting.

So this was what it was like to feel sick.

Bending over Seb could feel the contents of his stomach rushing up, burning hot as it surged along his throat and gushed in an unstoppable torrent from between his lips.

Gasping and choking as he gagged on the foul tasting fluid that he couldn't completely eject Seb was actually relieved when rough hands appeared and dragged him up hard from where he had been lying down and shoving him roughly in the direction of a low metal basin.

Bending over the edge Seb spat out the remaining fluid, lifting up his hands to rub against his face before waving his hands under the tap and bathing them in the cool water. Dry mouthed and desperate he cupped handfuls of the water and brought them to his parched mouth, at first using them to swill out the lingering taint before drinking as deeply as he dared.

When he was finally able to breath without the threat of retching once more he used the edge of the sink to lever himself up leaning his face against the cool metal wall, eyes unblinking he stared ahead dazed and unseeing until suddenly he wasn't and the image he saw caused his stomach to once more roll and clench.

Lifting his hands to his face Seb could only stare in horror as the reflected image copied him…the old white haired…bent backed reflection…the face that could not possible be his. Yet as he stared down at his hands Seb was forced to face the truth, the heavily lined and age spotted hands were his. The wrinkled face was his and suddenly it all came back in terrible clarity.

He knew this face. This was the face of the old tailor. Which meant somewhere out there was an old man waking up in his body. He was trapped and alone, probably facing interrogation and torture and nobody was coming to save him.

Sinking to the floor Seb wrapped his shaking arms around his gangly knobbled knees, unable to prevent the liquid that seemed to be spontaneously dripping from his eyes. Instead he pressed his shrunken cheek against the rough slave uniform he had been dressed in wishing for the first time that he had never left the safety of the Nethersphere.

-/-


	9. Chapter 9

-/-

Of course it wasn't as easy as The Mistress had predicted and Osgood couldn't help but be relieved that the time lady was currently without access to her pocketful of tricks even if their clothes had at least been returned to them more or less mud free. Although judging by the scowl that adorned Missy's face when she caught sight of the damage to her latest outfit, the once soft velvet finish now dull and coarse, Osgood wouldn't have been surprised if she offered to vaporise the remaining mud pools on the planet out of some warped sense of payback.

Although right now it was The Prospector and Trac who were more likely to be on the end of the Time Lady's murderous rage and Osgood wished she could creep back and hide out in their cave as the disagreement built into a fully blown argument.

"I don't care whether you plan on helping these people or not but we had a deal with your friend, we helped you so now you take us with you when you leave." The Prospector outlined quite coolly pointing his clawed hands in Osgood's direction.

"What fr…Oh you mean her?" Missy retorted her lip curling as she snorted, honestly the ideas some people came up with. "Dear little Skip here isn't in any position to be making promises on my behalf, I only keep her around out of pity and because I need someone to make the tea." She added cutting on Osgood's indignant exclamation with a pointed glare.

"A promise is a promise." The Prospector argued his dark eyes narrowing as he tried to intimidate his opponent only he was having limited success with The Mistress.

"Missy I did promise and they did help to rescue us both…" Osgood began placatingly even as her cheeks flushed a deep hue at being so spoken about in front of others. It was one thing to be called pet and ape and dismissed in private but to have The Mistress do so in front of others actually hurt her feelings; it somehow seemed more real and less like a force of habit for the time lady.

"Yes and if I had been the one to make it than I would be bound by it but I didn't…Besides my Tardis is not a charter cruiser I don't wander about the galaxy picking up hitchhikers unlike other time lords I could mention." Missy muttered derisively.

"Yes well certain Other Time Lords don't have to worry about their not friends or companions spitting in their tea from now on." Osgood muttered under her breath, feigning an innocent expression when Missy turned her glare on her.

"You are honestly going to sulk about that Pet?" Missy tutted, an almost fond smile tugging at her lips as her darling Skip tried to deceive her. "If anyone should be insulted here it's me, I mean you didn't want me as your girlfriend…"

"Perhaps we can come to some sort of compromise?" Trac suddenly spoke up glancing between his irritated companion and the firmly obstinate Mistress.

"Suggest away." Missy retorted knowing it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference to her. There was no way she was allowing a bunch of duplicitous androids from Urbanka on to her ship.

"We can recover your possessions for you."

"Oh honey bee I could do that by myself." Missy sneered rolling her eyes. "You are going to have to do much better than that."

"And we can lead you safely through the cave system." Trac added not even a flicker of irritation marring his face as he stared down at the diminutive Mistress.

"Hmm." Now that might be worth something…Worth putting up with them at least until the surface and by then she was sure to have a means of disposing of them before it came to having to deliver on her part of the deal. Besides it might be useful to have some spare parts lying around, human females were so very fragile and their lifespans were ridiculous so it might be good to have some alternative options to hand.

Turning back to Skip Missy sighed at the sulking expression that marred her pet's pretty face. Human females were trouble enough when they were happy; when they were annoyed with you it was time to start dodging bullets. "Oh fine you can all come…I suppose since Skippy here did give her word I can't be the one to turn her into a liar."

Frowning slightly at Missy sudden turn around Osgood knew The Mistress well enough to know it was not that simple. Time lords and ladies were stubborn, and Missy was certainly true to form in that at least. She was up to something, only mischief put that glint into her blue eyes…the thought of doing something naughty.

Osgood resolved to keep one eye on the path and one eye on The Mistress as despite their recent truce she knew better than anyone just how quickly that peace could vanish and this time she would much rather not be on the receiving end of Missy's wrath when it did.

-/-

He was going to die.

The freezing cold water was forcing its way up his nose; down his throat…Seb could feel it burning in his lungs as his body disobeyed his command and took in another lungful of the water in an effort to breathe.

Then just as quickly as he had been forced into the freezing cold dunk tank and held under Seb was being hauled out by his hair, dropped like a piece of rubbish onto the cold metal floor where it felt like he was going to eject his lungs in their entirety from the force of his coughs.

"Now shall we try this again?" The familiar mocking voice of The Overseer, who had introduced himself as Overseer Sil, demanded as he lounged quite contentedly in his throne like chair. His fingers dipping into the cold tank and fishing out one of the wiggling little marsh minnows; dropping the live newt like creature into his mouth and chewing with every evidence of enjoyment.

Choking Seb could only flinch as his wet white hair was harshly pulled on, his old pained body arching back in an unnatural position as the guard held him back. "I told you before…I don't know the details of how it was done." Seb pleaded his lungs screaming at him as his reward for his honesty was a sudden blow to the chest.

"I know you humans are notoriously slow but surely even you have worked out by now that is the wrong answer."

"Please I can't tell you what I don't know. I'm an A.I. not a scientist. I didn't even have a body until a month ago, it was a gift from my Mistress for my past service…" Seb babbled on grasping at straws, yet clearly something he had said had struck a nerve in Overseer Sil who suddenly abandoned his relaxed snacking and leant forward suddenly interested.

"I didn't I was just the A.I…I told you it was The Mistress…"

"So is this Mistress of yours?"

"That's her name; she's a time lord…well time lady…she's old fashioned… "

"Tell me does this Mistress of yours know a being called The Doctor?"

Nodding Seb was almost relieved to have a question he was able to answer. "Of course, he's her boyfriend."

Confused by the term for a moment The Overseer scowled. "What do you mean boyfriend?"

"Well they spend time chasing each other around the universe and give each other presents…" Seb tried to explain tugging on his wet white curls as he tried to translate the peculiarities of human naming conventions, something he still struggled with himself, there was just so many peculiarities that human's indulged in. "I think it's what human's call each other before they enter a pair bonding."

"She's his mate!" The Overseer spat eyes glowing in sadistic glee, finally he had a means at his disposal for wreaking his revenge on that interfering annoyance.

Jabbing his fingers into the portable terminal attached to his hover chair Overseer Sil ran the scans he had taken during the transference against the city's surveillance database. It only took the mainframe a matter of seconds to find a match and Sil rubbed his hands in delight as he selected and expanded a captured image of the human in his previous body accompanied by two smaller females. One of them was the time lady in question, it didn't matter which one he would find them both.

"The Doctor's mate is here!" He added rubbing his hands in delight; oh he would make The Doctor pay for ruining his previous enterprises and almost getting him killed. "He must have been the one to teach her my research; he stole it and taught her…"

"No I don't think….Not unless it involves a teleporter and some cyber technology…"

"Cyber technology?" The Mentor questioned, dark eyes narrowing in suspicion, the fin on his head standing ridgedly to attention as he turned to the remaining guard, the one not restraining Seb but standing like an expressionless mute in the corner, his voice raised in anger. "Go find me the underground trader's guild leader, bring him to me now! And summon the City Enforcers we have a rogue Time Lord to capture."

Trembling Seb could only shake in increasing terror as The Overseer sneered at him in disgust before gesturing to the guard to pick Seb up once again and pointing back towards the freezing water tank. "Now I'll show you what we do to time lord collaborators and murderers here!"

"No…No please I told you what you wanted to know…Please…No!" Seb screamed in horror as the freezing cold water came ever closer, limbs flying everywhere his panic made him stronger, his elbow flying back wildly and catching the guard holding him up right between the eyes.

They collapsed in a pile of limbs and Seb could only gasp as he stared back up at the ceiling the wind knocked out of him but at least he wasn't in the dreaded water.

"GET UP!" The Overseer was screaming as Seb managed to scramble free of his unconscious guard. "YOU STAY THERE HUMAN!" He added yelling at Seb who backed away instinctively from the screaming Mentor.

It was a chance, a fleeting chance but it was the best he was going to get. Forcing his frail body forward Seb grabbed hold of the screaming Overseer dragging the smaller alien from his hovering throne and pushing him to the floor before he could use his communicator to summon help. Then ignoring The Overseer commands he retrieved the weapon from the guard and darted for the door relieved when it opened automatically for him.

Ducking into the corridor Seb breathed a sigh of relief when the corridor appeared clear, lifting up the energy weapon he guessed which was the shooty end and pointed it at the door lock. A quick blast later and the lock sparked, the lights in the control panel dying as the system overloaded; then as fast as his frail body would allow Seb shuffled down the corridor, his stolen weapon hidden in the folds of his slave uniform, whilst he looked for any possible means of escape.

The noise of footsteps had him whirling around yet instead of the returning guard Seb sighed in relief as he caught sight of not a Guard come to arrest him but a startled human looking slave who had appeared out of some hidden service corridor. She was dressed like him in a loose fitting tunic and pushing a heavy cleaning cart. Thinking on his feet Seb forced a smile on his face before approaching the timid slave, her dark eyes wide with surprise as he approached.

"I was sent to assist you." Seb replied confidently. "We need to take this back to the store room."

"But I just came…"

"Are you questioning my instructions?" Seb huffed with every appearance of irritation and the timid female quailed in the face of his assertion.

"No….Sorry…No…" She stuttered, and Seb assisted her in turning the heavy cart around, the pair of them vanishing back into the service corridor just as the sound of a hover chair and heavy military boots echoed down the main corridor.

The approaching Trader's guild representative didn't even glance in the direction of the departing slaves; he didn't even recognise their presence. They were only slaves, who paid attention to them? The fried door control was another matter entirely and that caused even the stoic guards to panic. Eventually with the aid of a crow bar or two and several muscled guards the sealed door was finally prised open and a fuming Overseer Sil was discovered alive if furious trying to drag his rotund body back onto his hover chair.

"Where is he?" Sil demanded ignoring the trader's guild disappointment had at finding him seemingly alive and well, there would be no promotion for him in the near future after all.

"Sorry Overseer where is who?"

"That slave he assaulted me!" Overseer Sil exclaimed in disgust, that a mere human had dared to lay a finger on him caused his stomach to roll. "You couldn't have missed him there is only one exit from the detention block!"

"My apolo…"

"Hang your apologies." Sil all but screamed his cheeks clammy as sweat and other excretions began to dry, leaving a thin film of crust over his skin. He wanted a soft mud bath and a soothing drink of chilled clala water but more importantly he wanted that damn human back here and screaming apologies.

"I want him found!" He added gesturing the guards to the screen that still displayed the frozen images of Missy and Osgood. "And them, I want them found too, alive!"

-/-


	10. Chapter 10

-/-

It had been going surprisingly well. Trac and Osgood had taken to keeping a human and android buffer between Missy with her impulsive trigger finger and Prospector and his prickly pride. They had manage to skirt around several large mud pools without incident, confirming theory that physical contact was first required to activate it's locomotive properties. Even so Osgood had kept one protective eye on Missy every time they came anywhere near one of the pools no matter how tiny. After all one wrong step or trip or imbalance and she was without her guide to life the universe and everything and Trac and Prospector were without their ride home.

Still Osgood had known it was going too well to last and suspected that right up to the moment their little group ran, almost literally, into a group of armed men.

Hiding behind the only cover available Osgood could only stare in horror as the beams of light lit up the cave system. Where the shots hit the walls they left a worrying scorch mark behind and Osgood could only imagine what they would do to her if any of the shots connected. She wasn't keen on becoming a human piece of toast which between the lasers and Trac's flame thrower was a serious possibility.

"Why the hell are they firing at us? They didn't even ask us any questions first."

Snorting in amusement Missy turned to stare down at her frightened little pet, Skip had clearly been too sheltered in her days at UNIT if this little bit of crossfire was causing her to turn that colour. "Does it matter?"

"It does to me!" Osgood spluttered wincing as one shot came a little too close for comfort. "If I'm about to be shot I would rather like to know why!"

"Well perhaps my reputation precedes me?" Missy teased as she fumbled into her pocket and pulled out her incomplete disintegrator and the spare part she 'liberated' from Ril's shop. Then reaching into her updo she pulled a hair pin free, it wasn't a sonic screwdriver but it would do.

"Or perhaps our companions are on a shoot on sight list?" Missy mused, prising open the back of her hand held device, biting down on her bottom lip as she concentrated on the delicate little machinery.

"Or perhaps they managed to lift our images from that trader's shop?" Osgood retorted pointedly as she nodded towards the innocent looking oscillator in Missy's lap.

"Or yes perhaps that." Missy huffed rolling her eyes at her pet's pedantic return to that point. "The Cybermites should have wiped his surveillance system as well but I suppose he could have had a backup…or someone gave a description…I would say the point is mute pet since they are shooting at us regardless. Now be a good girl and hush I am trying to concentrate." She added scraping off some gunk that had congealed against the power cells.

Picking up the replacement part The Mistress scowled as the damn thing didn't want to fit properly and she didn't the tools to refine the technique, in the end she settled for brute force smacking the part into place with the palm of her hand.

"Well that was worth going through all that trouble for." Osgood muttered mutinously. The damn part was probably broken now due to Missy's impatience.

Realising she wasn't going to get any answers or sympathy from Missy Osgood rolled onto her stomach and crept up until she could peer over the edge of the rock protecting them. So far Trac's flame thrower was keeping the guards back from rushing at them but that was all it was doing, built for dealing with mud monsters it wasn't equipped to deal with a threat that kept its distance and was able to take pot shots at them from a distance.

They were just toying with them.

Even hidden Osgood could see the leader talking into some sort of wrist communicator, probably calling for reinforcements to surround or cut them off. Their only advantage probably lay in that the guards were probably more out of their depths in these surroundings that Trac or the Prospector were, yet if they headed deeper into the cave system away from the known routes how long would that superior knowledge last?

Well it seemed they were about to find out…

The flame thrower Trac was wielding suddenly began to splutter, the once firm gushes now began to abate and flicker as the weapon began to run out of fuel. As if sensing victory was close the guards began to hedge closer and one raised his hand to signal them to stop shooting for a moment.

"There is no possibility of escape, drop your weapon and surrender peaceably and you will not be terminated."

"Somehow I doubt his credibility." Osgood muttered ominously sharing a look with Trac that merely confirmed her suspicions.

"We have order to take the two females alive, if you hand them over with no resistance then we may show leniency."

Shooting a look at Missy that summed up her belief that it was all the time lady's fault Osgood was surprised and unprepared when a strong arm grabbed her and she was hauled up bodily and held tightly against The Prospector's chest.

"Do not shoot." Prospector demanded his strong android hand closing tightly around Osgood's throat. "If anyone moves towards us I will snap this one's neck!" He added with a pointed gaze towards the armed guards and The Mistress who had gone worryingly still.

Only Osgood recognised that look, the way The Mistress seemed to freeze her expression, those ice blue eyes turning glacially cold as her stare bore into the side of the Prospector's head as he held her human hostage. Scuffed red tipped fingernails closed around her almost repaired device, stroking the button that could if the repairs worked vaporise the arrogant android on the spot. It was only the minute shake of Osgood's head and the risk that she might damage her pet in the crossfire that made her hold her fire.

Yet Osgood knew it was only a matter of time, one way or another she doubted the android would be leaving the cave system alive.

"This is not a negotiation." The guard leader replied. "We have orders to take the females alive but that does not preclude harm coming to them, there is considerable range before death will occur."

"Then agree to take them and let us go." Prospector insisted. "We were only bringing them back to the surface to sell them, we are not party to whatever crime they committed before we captured them in the tunnels."

"You fired upon the city enforcers!"

"None of you were harmed." Prospector retorted.

"Very well if you will hand over the females I will ensure that you are not detained."

Puffed up with pride that he had been successful The Prospector handed over a shaking Osgood to the city guards before turning to Trac and instructing him to do the same with Missy; surprisingly the time lady allowed herself to be easily captured and manhandled, not even attempting to resist as two young guards came forward and took her arms.

"There now we will be on our way." Prospector insisted not sparing the two females a second glance now they had served their purpose and so missing the way The Mistress's smile seemed to grow, her eyes narrowing as she took a moment to savour the anticipation.

Then with speed and strength the guards had not anticipated from one so slight and small she wrenched her arm free of the inexperienced grip and liberated the weapon from the guard's holster. With a flick of her blood red fingernail she changed to maximum power before firing at point blank range.

The resulting explosion had everyone ducking for cover, the head of the android blowing apart and firing springs and coils and sparks in every direction before the now husk of a body fell in a smoking ruin at The Mistress's feet.

"Mister Prospector I'm afraid your travel permit has been permanently revoked!" Missy quipped, sniggering at her own joke before the whine of weapon's build up caught her attention.

All but two of the city enforcers now had their weapons armed and pointed at her, all save the green boy she had stolen from and the leader of the group who had his weapon pressed against the side of Skip's head.

"Drop your weapon or I fry her brain." He threatened calmly.

"And the difference would be?" Missy snorted cruelly, relenting slightly when Skip began to tear up, either at her insult or from fear of being turned into a vegetable. Or perhaps it was both?

"Missy please…"

"Oh alright." Missy pouted handing over her new toy to its original owner who snatched it out of her hands. "Now now play nicely, didn't your mummy ever teach you that good boy's share their toys?"

"Restrain her."

This time the guards were taking no chances, they had underestimated Missy once they weren't going to do so twice. Even so the restraints at both wrist and elbow were probably taking things a little far in Osgood's opinion, although she had seen Missy escape from the handcuffs on board Boat 1 so perhaps they were more sensible than UNIT had been. The Mistress didn't seem to be phased by it all and that reassured Osgood as she was herself pushed into similar restraints.

However when the guards approached with an actual collar Missy's nonchalance suddenly seemed less than convincing, although Osgood doubted anyone but her would have noticed the difference…the broad demented grin suddenly looked forced, the blue eyes suddenly too bright and the previously relaxed red nails now dug into the skin of Missy's palms.

"Hmmm that's a good look on you Skip." Missy teased her bright blue eyes blatantly raking over Osgood's restrained form, as she tried to distract herself from the jarring sensation of a collar once more around her pale slender throat. Her human pet was perfect for that and Missy forced herself to concentrate on Skip and her delightful blushes and making them deepen. Pushing down the fragments of memory that threatened her fragile peace of mind.

"I'll have to introduce you to a little room I keep on the Tardis…"

Blushing deep fuchsia despite their audience and the fact that Osgood was sure Missy was joking…well seventy five…maybe fifty percent sure…oh well who was she kidding of course The Mistress probably had some kinky little secret room full of things that would probably scar Osgood for life.

"We have to get back to the Tardis first." Osgood reminded her, her confidence growing as Missy didn't seem to that would be a problem shrugging nonchalantly.

It was that she clung to as one of her impatient guards pushed her roughly by the shoulder and unable to balance herself Osgood almost tripped over Prospectors still smoking android corpse. "Hey no need to be so rough. You could try telling me where you want me to walk and I'll…"

"We could just as easily carry your unconscious body." The lead guard retorted and Osgood shut her mouth with a decided snap of teeth as she felt the barrel of his weapon once again pressed against her cheek.

Perhaps the wiser part of valour was in shutting up right about now?

-/-


	11. Chapter 11

-/-

Nothing he had ever seen before had prepared Seb for a place like this. Even on the Nethersphere, which held the recently deceased of the entire human race every individual had received their own data storage node or "housing" as the human's had believed them to be. Yet the quarters Seb had been bustled into were full to bursting with beings from all manner of races, all of them vaguely humanoid but that was as similar as they came.

The slave quarters were cramped overcrowded and clearly no expense was spent here on keeping them clean. Keeping his head down Seb tried his best to blend in, to not gawp but it was so difficult. Despite his superior creation, far better than simply being born which was so very common and unspeakably messy, Seb was almost as sheltered as the very human's he scorned. He had spent the last few weeks in the Tardis enjoying his superior knowledge of life the universe and everything over Osgood. He had too cling to something it had been so humiliating having to depend on the human girl to instruct him on the basics of being in a flesh form. To wash and feed himself something than human children learnt when they were fortunately young enough to be able to forget the humiliating experience.

Yet all his superior knowledge was theoretical, programmed into him by The Mistress. He could catalogue and retrieve data on all of the races here but it was something very different recognising the characteristics of said aliens and another thing entirely to have to actually smell them. His nose had never been so stimulated. It was a novel experience feeling his stomach roll from a combination of hunger and nausea.

As he walked along despite his attempts to blend in Seb couldn't help but stand out. He was a different face in a large but close knit community. And he was old…much older than anyone else present, his silver hair and bent posture earning him shocked and openly hostile reactions. There were no old slaves after all. Slaves were worked hard, they had limited or no access to medical care and their basic quality of life was poor. Slaves died before they reached his apparent physical age.

Some shunned him because they viewed him a liability, the others because he stood out and he was viewed with suspicion…a spy in the ranks and those ranks closed on him. Backs turned on him and Seb shuffled on, the weapon he had stolen tucked into the waist of his drawstring pants, hidden from sight by the ugly loose tunic. It was the only time Seb would be grateful for such ugly unflattering clothing. The weapon was his main advantage; Seb couldn't afford to lose it. His only other advantage was bizarrely enough this old useless form he had been given, the tall strong flesh form he had worn before would have stood out even more.

It had helped him escape the detention block and it would help him blend into the background as he searched for The Mistress, he had to find her or find some way of getting back to the Tardis. There had to be some way of getting around the safeguards The Mistress had installed in her Tardis to prevent it being stolen? Seb might no longer have strength or agility but he still had his mind, the intelligence programmed by a time lord and that had to count for something. Even if it meant having to endure another trip in the Tardis with the stabilisers removed it would be worth it to find a means to escape this hellhole.

For a moment Seb allowed himself the luxury of dreaming, that he was the one to figure out the Tardis, to be the one to show his Mistress how much more worthy a companion he was than that slow stupid Osgood; a smile pulled at his old wrinkled mouth as Seb imagined his Mistress's surprised and impressed expression. He couldn't wait for the moment when she realised she had been wasting her time and attention on the ape instead of taking him under her wing.

Seb's smile grew when he imagined her exclaiming she had no further use for the human female and dropped her back on earth like she was returning a present she no longer wanted…or…or…

A wicked idea suddenly popped into Seb's mind…after all it would be a shame to waste a perfectly good body and he really was in dire need of a replacement. He was certain that given a few additional weeks adjustment he would be able to adapt to being female, after all The Mistress had managed it. It would be the best of both worlds, he got a replacement body and The Mistress got to keep her pretty little pet.

Seb was so engrossed in the brilliance of his own plot that he didn't notice a better dressed slave appear, nor the way the others seemed to shy away their faces bent to the floor in obedience.

"This one as well…dear me who on earth paid money for this thing?"

The sudden grasp on his reed thin arms did manage to shake Seb out of his daydream as a strong hand captured him and Seb looked up into a face that was unmoved by pity, the dull grey eyes bored into him as if daring him to try and resist as they clamped an iron shackle around his wrist.

"And the Trasken girl…" The slave dressed in green instructed and a trembling blue skinned female was the next added to the chain gang.

"And will someone go and retrieve the one of the Ood?" Green added in a bored tone with one last glance down at the stilo in his hand and for a moment Seb felt a flicker of kinship…that was him…the old him…the him from the Nethersphere.

Set above the others, given a measure of authority but still trapped, still a slave to his Mistress's whims and desires.

"Excuse me but where are…" Seb began only for his words to be cut off by the sudden backhand of a fist against his cheek.

"No one gave you permission to speak." Green hissed, mottled pink tinges highlighted the scale like patinatia that was the only hint of his less than human origins. "Take these things away the Overseer's guests are waiting."

Prodded sharply in the back by something heavy Seb bit down on his tongue to prevent it from getting him into any more trouble, the reassuring weight of his hidden weapon gave him the courage to copy the behaviour of the others in his little chain gang and at least pretend to be contrite. He just had to play along and wait for the right moment to escape.

-/-

"Missy?"

The Mistress was too quiet and with every step they had taken away from the caves, Osgood had watched as the time lady seemed to retreat further into herself. Even before being bundled into a secure elevator that had whipped them up at dizzying speeds back into the heart of the city, there were fewer psychotic grins or glares at their captors. Missy's taunts had steadily faded until the sound of her breathing and steady unfocused gaze were the only signs Osgood had that Missy was still with her…well in body if not in mind.

Now they had been tied up and left alone in a locked room for a moment Osgood knew she had to get The Mistress to snap out of it now whilst there was a slim chance for them to escape.

"Please Mistress." Osgood tried again.

The use of the time lady's chosen name was deliberate as Osgood had read UNIT's psychological profile on The Master and even in her limited personal experience she had noted how the notoriously vain time lady would preen in delight when anyone used her proper title in a suitably grovelling manner. Well if grovelling and appealing to the Mistress's ego would snap her out of this…this funk then Osgood would stoop to conquer.

Yet there was no noticeable result and Osgood couldn't help but wrack her brain for an alternative tactic…a wry smile tugging at her lips as a certain idea came to mind.

"Twenty-five bottles of beer on the wall…twenty five bottles of beer." Osgood began loudly, tunelessly, wincing internally as her strangled cat of a voice echoed loudly in the enclosed space. For a moment she expected the door to open and the armed guards to come rushing back in yet when the door remained closed she took a deep breath and continued.

"Take one down and pass it around…"

"Are you trying a new form of torture before our actual captors arrive?" Missy's clipped voice was a welcome relief but Osgood kept on singing.

"Twenty four bottles of beer on the wall…"

"Skip if you don't stop assaulting my eardrums…"

"Twenty fours bottles of beer on the wall…"

"You don't want me to come over there…"

"Twenty four bottles of beer…"

"I swear I will smother you in your sleep if you keep this up…"

"Get us out of here and I'll stop." Osgood retorted smugly before clearing her throat. "Take one down and pass it around…"

"As you can see I am a little tied up at the moment." Missy growled, tilting her head as she tried everything she could not to focus on the constricting sensation around her slender neck, yet there was no hiding the way her skin seemed to prickle in anticipation or her hearts continued to race within her chest as if any moment now…

"TWENTY THREE BOTTLES OF BEER!"

The sudden increase in volume shook The Mistress from her waking nightmare and she had to stifle the conflicting impulses of sighing in relief and glaring daggers at Osgood and her pettiness. In the end the look she did shoot the girl probably looked pained and vulnerable because the damn ape actually stopped caterwauling for a moment those large brown eyes swimming with what might have been concern or perhaps Skip just needed to go to the bathroom. Regardless of the reason Missy held the human woman's gaze relieved to have something else to try and concentrate on. Even a human was better than the memories that were rising up and trying to assault her.

Missy could only curse and blame her earlier foray into that little mud pool and the resulting psychic assault that had left her shields bruised and battered. Those gaps were allowing memories she normally kept firmly locked away to leak through…

Rassilon was dead. He was dead.

Thete had released her from the damn collar eons ago and Missy had managed to wreak her revenge on the former Lord President before The Doctor had blown his base across several parsecs. She had even made Rassilon pay in pain and blood for his treatment of her and if she could conquer that particular time lord than surely whatever putrid little life form dared to collar her again would be child's play by comparison?

So why were her hands shaking?

"Mistress…"

"What?" Missy snapped her tone curt, annoyingly so as instead of looking chastised or frightened like she should do Skip had the nerve to look at her with pity.

"It's alright to be afraid sometimes you know." Osgood replied, as she didn't need her poor eyesight to recognise the symptoms of an imminent panic attack. "I'm afraid…."

"You're human you were born quivering and screaming and you'll die just the same." The Mistress spat back testily, not in the mood for her pet's attempt to humanise her.

Most times she found it amusing how dumb these little bipeds could be. Osgood had seen what she was capable of; hell she had even murdered the girl herself for no reason other than the fact that she could….fine and perhaps to remind The Doctor about the proper order of things. Yet still the girl seemed oblivious to the fact the real monster was not the people holding them captive but her fellow prisoner. The Mistress could kill and maim and laugh until she made herself hoarse. She could sliver into the minds of her victims and prompt and taunt them until they bent to her will, destroying everything they loved before finishing themselves off into the bargain.

Osgood knew this better than most dumb human's, she had read the files UNIT kept on her, she must have read about the year that never was, about the massacre's and burnings, the labour camps and kidnappings. And still the girl chose to come with her, to travel the stars at the side of a killer, to stand there tied up facing probably torture and death and still she looked at Missy expectantly as though she was going to…to save her!

It was ludicrous.

It was almost a relief when the sleek metal doors opened and in marched a pair of well-armed guards flanking a hover chair in which sat one of the most obese Mentor's that The Mistress ever had the displeasure of seeing. Despite her earlier rebuking of Skip and her amusing reactions to the assortment of species that littered this backwater planet The Mistress couldn't contain her own lip curl of disgust at coming face to face with another Mentor. They really were a disgusting species, even lower if it was possible than the human's that The Doctor was so fond of…at least human's only oozed out of a few orifices at any point in time…not that Missy had yet to discover the point of snot under any circumstances. Mentor's by contrast seemed to ooze from all over their body, the more excited the more they oozed and the smell…

Wrinkling her nose as the damn hover chair came to stop in between the chained up Mistress and Osgood Missy raked her blue eyes over the practically vibrating Mentor who was looking between them both with something akin to glee.

"I am Overseer Sil." The fat green blob expounded as though that should mean something to the pair of them, his beady black eyes narrowing when neither female showed any sign of recognition. "And you are?"

"Charmed I am sure." Missy snorted rolling her eyes. Still she was doing marginally better than poor Skip who was looking decidedly green about the gills, yet the poor girl was somehow managing to not throw up and so The Mistress had to give her point for that. It's not like a human could selectively muffle their sense of smell like a time lord could.

"So you have heard of me?"

"Nope." Missy replied, popping the end of the word with due irreverence. "Should I have?"

"You jest; surely The Doctor must have mentioned me?" Sil persisted; puffing up his cranial spikes as this older of the two females rolled her eyes and began to study the ceiling.

"The Doctor?" Osgood couldn't help it, despite her rolling stomach the mention of the old other time lord peaked her interest and thusly Overseer Sil's as he turned from glaring at Missy to glance at her, his irritation abating somewhat as something seemed to be going as planned. These two did know The Doctor after all, at least that damn slave hadn't been feeding him a pack of lies.

"Yes The Doctor!" Sil vibrated with vicious glee as he glared at the younger female. "Surely he must have bragged about how he lied and deceived me, how he stole my research and destroyed my career…well almost…" Sil paused in his rant puffing himself up. "He tried and failed much like he tried and failed to have me murdered."

"The Doctor would nev…" Osgood began hotly her cheeks flushing in righteous anger…

"Nope sorry he never mentioned it." Missy sniggered cutting Osgood off before she could finish her pointless defence of the absent time lord, then giggling as Sil looked torn between fury and disbelief.

"But…but…"

"But I wouldn't take it personally." The Mistress added consoling, pouting sympathetically her blue eyes glinting with barely suppressed mischief. "I mean The Doctor has burned entire civilisations is it any wonder a little thing like almost killing you slipped his memory…Why I doubt by now he would even remember your name…oh forgive me what was it again…Phil?"

"Overseer Sil." The Mentor growled between sharp pointy teeth. The female was baiting him. Well two could play at that game. "The Doctor will remember me my dear before he dies, he will scream his apologies for his crimes against me…"

"Really?" Missy smirked drawing out a bored yawn. "Well I would wish you luck if I thought it would do you any good but The Doctor is notoriously difficult to kill, believe me I have been trying for years."

"Oh I don't need luck when I have the two of you." Sil retorted with a leer, his eyes flicking prospectively between the two females assessing. On the surface there was no discernible features that marked one or other as a time lord and the basic biological scanners built into each holding cells had returned human looking readings for both. So either the slave was lying or there was more time lord trickery at work here; Sil's fingers itched to get them on his medical slab for further examination, under the knife he was sure to find the answers he sought but he needed the females alive and healthy...well for the time being at least…

"I don't see what good either of us will bring." Osgood replied shooting a nervous glance across to Missy who had settled for a slow smirk and her unnerving unblinking stare as her bright blue gaze bore into the side of the Overseer's head.

"Besides you might want to quit whilst you're ahead." Osgood swallowed, forcing herself to meet Sil's gaze, as vile as the Mentor was Osgood couldn't simply stand by and have another death on her conscience. "The Doctor is not the time lord you really need to be worried about right now."

After all it was a look Osgood was all too familiar with, she had seen it before, that one sided smile, that hooded gaze…someone was going to die soon and Osgood could only cross her fingers and hope it wasn't her.

"Oh my dear you must think I am a fool, I know exactly who I have captured…I know The Doctor will come here when he hears I have you captured." Sil gloated, the pieces slotting together, her yes it had to be…

"Oh really well I suppose my reputation does precede me." Missy preened, her lips twisting into a wide mouth psychotic grin as she fluttered her dark eyelashes. "But a girl's got to have a hobby." The Mistress added her irritation growing as instead of being intimidated Sil seemed content to ignore her and focus on Osgood instead.

Reaching up one clawed finger Sil drew it almost tenderly along the curve of the younger female's face. "After all what male wouldn't come when he hears that his mate is in danger!"

-/-


	12. Chapter 12

-/-

She was being ignored.

Normally being ignored by The Mistress would not be a point of concern, in fact there were planets out in the cosmos who would pay good money to be permanently ignored by the time lady. Yet there was a difference between being forgotten about and being obviously and deliberately blanked. It was a state of total blind avoidance that was so blatant that that is was impossible to ignore in response. A form of evasion so insidious that it crept into Osgood's scull and despite being chained up and threatened by an overgrown mollusc The Mistress's cold shoulder was literally all Osgood could think about.

Even when the guards returned and escorted them in silence down the hidden service corridors, and down into a more ornate part of the building. Osgood should have been looking and searching for a means of escape, or if nothing else taking the time to soak in what might have been her last few minutes alive on an alien planet. Instead all she could think of was the icy furious expression on Missy's face when Sil had incorrectly labelled Osgood The Doctor's mate of all things…where the hell he had gotten that idea from Osgood couldn't even begin to imagine.

Still at least it had gotten them out of that cell; there had been some rather nasty looking pieces of equipment in there that Osgood doubted had any pleasant applications. Their new surroundings were some sort of sitting room, and several closed doors that led off to who knows where. A few feet away from where they were restrained there were comfortable looking lounging chairs, not that they would be using them the guards had left them bound to some sort of trellis and Osgood's nose twitched as some pretty alien plant tickled her nose and caused her already strained eyes to water.

Great alien hayfever just what she needed…just as long as the damn thing wasn't poisonous… although knowing her luck…

Yet somehow despite their new more pleasing surroundings Osgood doubted Sil was about to back down from his threat. He wanted The Doctor, he was going to use Osgood to lure him here under the misunderstanding that she was his mate. Yet she wondered how long the mentor was prepared to wait for the time lord before he attempted more drastic methods to entice him here. That was assuming The Doctor would even bother to come and rescue the former UNIT scientist even if she was threatened with torture or death? Why would he risk himself to save the woman who had committed treason and had turned her back on his own offer to travel with him in favour of The Mistress,?

The very Mistress who still wasn't talking to her…or even looking at her…

"Missy…" Osgood hissed brown eyes wide and pleading as the time lady somehow managed to shift her bound form until her back was now pretty much all Osgood could see of her. "Please don't be like this…"

Sulking, Osgood was sure no one at UNIT would believe her if she told them about this, a two thousand year old time lady sulking like a stroppy teenager and why? Because some unpleasant oozing slug alien thought that Osgood was The Doctor's girlfriend instead of her.

"I don't see why you would care what a giant slug thinks anyway?" Osgood prompted turning around to face The Mistress's back. "And couldn't it be a good thing? We know it's not true but if it means he underestimates you we can use it to our advantage surely?"

It was a strange situation, one Osgood would never have dreamt a month ago, that she would be faced with trying to reassure the newest incarnation of The Master and sooth her ruffled feathers. Although to be honest a month ago she wouldn't have thought The Master had feelings that could be hurt. For a being who claimed to be the Queen of Evil bent on subjugating the entire universe to her whims The Mistress was surprisingly sensitive.

"It's not like its even true…" Osgood huffed impatiently; glaring as even her patience was being tested as her gaze bore into the dust stained back and the ratty pinned dark curls that were too heavy for the few pins valiantly trying to hold them up…already a few tendrils of hair had fallen out of the time lady's normally meticulous updo.

"Would you cease your pathetic ape babbling?" Missy's hissed reply was cutting in its coldness.

"Did it never occur to you that I simply don't care to reply to you? Why should I care what you or that equally mud crawling mentor think? You're both still lumbering about in the primordial slime, barely evolved enough to babble along deluded like squalling infants with your own sense of achievement and self-importance."

"Don't…Don't talk to me like that." Osgood stuttered over her reply, unable to fully put into words how deeply Missy's words cut her. Humanity may be a young species, less evolved than the vaunted time lords but that didn't mean they were any less important or it shouldn't but try telling The Mistress that.

"Why not? Does it hurt little Skip's feelings being told the truth? Hmm surely you've realised by now just how pitiful you really are? Whining, dull and so very predictable, just being trapped so close to you turns my stomach."

Osgood couldn't help but flush from a combination of anger and foolishness. Part of her was incensed that Missy dared to talk about her and her species like they were pond scum and yet most of her was more angry at herself for being such an idiot. She who knew what The Mistress thought about humans, mere pawns to be used and disposed of. She was the fool who had allowed herself to become deluded, to actually allow her pride to convince her that she was different from the rest because Missy had chosen her; The Mistress had asked her, a human, to travel with her.

To think that she, silly, speccy, boring Osgood was special in anyway…

Shrinking back into herself Osgood blinked her swimming eyes, trying to lie to protect her battered ego; it was just the damn alien plant induced hay fever.

Yet there was no hiding from the taunting words that were now on constant repeat in her mind, cruel words that now merged with the other cruel taunts Osgood had suffered through over the years. Stacey and her friends now joined The Mistress in a cacophony of sniggering at Osgood's many shortcomings. She had never felt anyone's scorn could cut deeper than her sister's but then Osgood had had years of practice with Stacey and her sister knew all of her sore points. Yet it seemed Missy's cruelty cut deeper, for some reason. A sharp deep stiletto that had been dug in and wrenched out again with such pin point clinical efficiency Osgood could feel herself bleeding inwardly.

It was actually a relief when the doors opened once more and in walked…

"Seb!" Osgood exclaimed with something approaching relief as the tall A.I. appeared, his dark eyes narrowing as he caught sight of them both tutting as he shook his head.

"No No No that will never do." He muttered reaching into his pocket and withdrawing what looked like a measuring tape as he approached the bound pair. "What on earth is that monstrosity?"

"Seb what…look I know you hate my clothing but now is not the time..." Osgood began as Seb's lip curled in disgust as he moved closer and picked nervously at the stained corduroy jacket Osgood was still wearing. The mud from the pool had caked into all the little ridges and despite the best efforts of Ood Navis and his little band of hidden outlaws there was no saving it. Still there was no excuse for Seb's preoccupation with her ruined clothing not when he should be focused on getting them out of here.

"That is not Seb." Missy's whispered flat tone surprised Osgood, who was half amazed by what the time lady was implying and half stunned that Missy was deigning to speak to her again.

"My dear anyone with eyes would loath this thing…" Seb sighed as he retrieved a piece of silky fabric from the pocket of his neatly tailored suit and decorously wiped his fingers on the pristine white cloth before immediately disposing of it; throwing it over his shoulder at a one of the hovering slaves who had to scrabble on the floor to retrieve it.

"Fortunately for you and my refined sense of taste neither one of us will have to look at it for very much longer!" He added smugly, waving forward the other hovering slave who was laden down with what looked like several garment bags. "Now I have no idea what your species would consider to be attractive so I have brought along a few selections."

"My species…"

"However I do have extensive experience with other humanoid species and there seems to be a recurring trend." Not Seb paused, a sly smirk pulling at the familiar features warping them into something hard and cruel. A look that despite his vileness Osgood had to admit she had never seen on the A.I.'s face and so despite not understanding how this could be someone other than Seb Osgood felt it in her gut that Missy was right. This was not the A.I.

Watching closely as Not Seb unfastened the garment bag Osgood blanched in horror for the second time in as many seconds.

"I am not wearing that!"

A wry snort of amusement from beside her had Osgood turning her ire on a smirking Missy who answered her ape's angry glare with an amused smirk. "Don't you mean you're not not wearing that?" Missy teased, blue eyes raking over the skimpy little outfit that would leave very little of Osgood's plump cleavage and other assets hidden from prying eyes.

"You know I think I preferred it when you were sulking and ignoring me." Osgood snapped back, her irritation only growing as Missy feigned a hurt pout which quickly warped into a sadistic smirk.

"What's the matter pet don't you think your "boyfriend" will like the new you?"

"You are such a bitch." Osgood hissed struggling futilely against her captors as they freed her from her restraints and the two slaves escorted her over to one of the closed doors which opened on their approach to reveal a sumptuous bathroom suite. Then prodded into the room the doors closed behind them cutting Osgood off from view.

Leaning back against her restraints Missy's smirk vanished at the same moment as her human pet. Bright blue eyes now firmly locked on the imposter wearing her A.I's flesh form.

"So now it's just the two of us." Missy innocently commented eyes raking over the imposter. "What happened to Seb?"

Shrugging elegantly the imposter barely spared her an interested second glance. "Oh was that its name?"

Her gaze hardening at the deliberate use of the past tense Missy mentally added this imposter to her list of people to kill before they left this hell hole. Seb was her creation; the only one who had the right to decompile him was Missy herself.

"I wouldn't worry my dear I doubt you will survive him long." Not Seb replied in a voice laden with faux concern.

"My brother has something special in mind for you. It's a shame as we might have gotten some decent credits for you." He added eyes raking over the bound female as despite her physical age she was still beautifully proportioned and that face was striking, in the right light someone might call her beautiful and those eyes…there were people who would pay good money for eyes like that. She might have gotten them a good price at one of the pleasure houses.

"Oh dear is this the part where you gloat and tell me all your nefarious plans and I pretend to cower in terror?" Missy all but giggled. It was so ironic being on the other side off this scenario. Missy was almost enjoying herself.

Raising his hand Not Seb backhanded the impudent female sharply across the face, his irritation growing as she merely smiled wider and slipped out a pink tongue to prod at her bleeding lip.

"You would do well to mind your tone."

"Hmmm why don't you make me love?" Missy baited him, watching as the foolish male stepped forward hand raised again yet instead of striking her he gasped her jaw, manicured fingernails digging sharply into her skin.

Skip almost had a point it was quite amusing that their captors seemingly had no idea just who she was and what she was capable of. Not that she would ever let her human pet know that of course. At the moment Missy hadn't decided just how best to punish the little imp, death seemed a little extreme and besides she had tried that once and it didn't seem to have the same effect on Osgood as on most of her victims, the damn girl just got sassier. She could leave her behind of course, a lifetime of slavery and humiliation might finally teach her her proper place in the universe and yet…

No it was just the idea of someone else having the satisfaction of teaching the impertinent little wretch her lesson that was upsetting her, that was the only possible reason for this otherwise inexplicable reluctance to part with a mere human.

True she made an excellent pot of tea and it was occasionally gratifying to have such a simple companion to deal with, humans were almost like having a pot plant; as long as you occasionally remembered to feed them and give them a little pruning they survived somehow. And speaking of simple creatures…

"I am going to enjoy watching you die my dear…" The human wearing Mentor hissed as he leant closer. "To watch all that foolish confidence bleed out of you as you scream in terr…"

The sudden blow to the groin took Not Seb completely by surprise and face ashen he reacted as human males had for centuries, curling up instinctively.

Heaving her weight up on to her bound arms Missy moved like a coiled viper striking, one leg lifting up and kicking him in the back of the knees bringing the spluttering Not Seb crashing down hard. Then curling and tightening Missy wrapped her leg around his exposed throat, tightening her slender thighs she watched with growing glee as his normally light brown skin turned a delightful reddish purple. Those once gloating dark eyes now locked in murderous horror, slowing turning bloodshot as thec apillaries in his eyes burst from the sudden pressure.

There really was nothing quite like killing with your bare hands. There was such a primal connection with your victim that mere disintegration couldn't provide. Savouring the slow realisation in your victims eyes that they were going to die, that there was no escape, the reluctant acceptance of that fact and the knowledge that you were the last thing they would ever see…it was a heady sensation and Missy could feel her skin trembling in anticipation…

It was primal like a good f**king and The Mistress couldn't believe that The Doctor found it so distasteful…or perhaps Thete did understand? The Mistress had long suspected that contrary to popular belief The Doctor was just like her, that killing and the sense of total unadulterated power that it held appealed to him just like it sang to her only he was just too much of a damn coward to admit and accept it.

Oh but if he did…a shiver of a very different sort ran through The Mistress's body and she allowed her eyes to fall closed as she savoured it…just the thought of those long strong fingers of his strangling the life out of some pathetic lower species and the running just as greedily over her body.

Upon opening her own bright blues her gaze once again met those brown eyes now dead and glassy and Missy allowed herself a moment to savour it. Then almost primly she removed her legs from around his slack neck and with one innocent nudge sent Not Seb's corpse sprawling back.

"One down." She sighed almost disappointed she couldn't revive him and kill him again.

Now with no onlookers to worry about Missy wiggled her wrists, grunting for a moment as she physically wrenched her bindings from their tenuous holding on the trellis, now able to twist properly she activated the control on her spiky bracelet which emitted a familiar sonic pulse causing her restraints to fall free.

Rolling her cramped shoulders and sighing in relief she reached up and removed the collar from her neck before picking the bits of broken trellis and Cardelian creeper out of her hair but Missy kept hold of one of the large verdant blue blossoms. Admiring her reflection in one of the ornate mirrors she tucked it behind her ear. Then reaching into her pocket she removed the hastily assembled disintegrator and weighed her options.

There really was no point leaving the place looking untidy.

Pointing her device at the slowly cooling corpse Missy depressed the button, a delighted smile lighting up her face as her new toy worked perfectly and Not Seb vanished in a rolling ball of flame leaving only a few lingering granules of inorganic mass behind. Resisting the urge to congratulate herself on her own brilliance Missy's eyes turned to the closed door that Skip had vanished through. Prowling closer her fingers running in nervous anticipation over her disintegrator Missy imagined the look of horror and shock on the human's face as she faced a second death at the time lady's hands.

Palming her hand against the door control Missy feigned a look of complete nonchalance as the doors slid open. She leaned against the frame blue eyes twinkling sadistically as a barely clad Osgood gasped in surprise, her embarrassed flush at being seen in this terrible outfit quickly shifting to horror of another kind as Missy raised her hand and revealed its contents.

"Hello Pet. Miss me?"

-/-


	13. Chapter 13

-/-

"You're not going to kill me." It was the best she could come up with, as even with her rubbish vision Osgood would recognise Missy's disintegrator anywhere, it haunted her dreams often enough that the innocent looking device could never be mistaken for anything else.

Ushering the two frightened slaves behind her Osgood did her best to swallow down her fear, yet it was impossible to keep an eye on both them and The Mistress who cut off their only means of escape.

"Missy…Mistress I'm your companion." Osgood insisted with confidence she scraped up from somewhere, her full lips set in a determined line as she held brown eyes straight and bore them into The Mistress's own blue orbs. "You'd be bored without me around to bully."

If nothing else at least she would die having amused the time lady as Osgood watched as Missy chuckled to herself, head tilting to one side like a bird…a bird of prey...

That was the perfect analogy for The Mistress, from a distance she was all beautiful plumage, delicate looking and graceful; it was only when she was up close you could make out the sharp beak, the razor sharp talons, the bright all seeing gaze that seemed to stare into your soul and project the only question that was on The Mistress's mind….hmmm to kill or not to kill…

"I saved your life remember, back with the mud and the androids they were going to leave you behind." Osgood added stepping forward her arms raised in surrender. "And I'm useful remember, I can make tea just how you like it…"

"Tea making?" Missy couldn't help but snigger, eyes raking over the nubile human's barely clothed form. "Is that the best you could come up with?"

"…Not just the tea…" Osgood scrabbled around, racking her brain…she was supposed to be smart remember…there had to be something.

"Forgive me Pet but I do recall you saying something similar before and as my memory goes you did end up very much dead…burned up…turned to smoke and ash…and I took great satisfaction in grinding your poor lickle broken glasses beneath my boot…"

"It's different now, I'm different." Osgood insisted even though the very image Missy conjured with her words turned her stomach, as Osgood had no doubt they were true.

"Oh dear isn't this the part where you promise you are more use alive than dead?" Missy yawned patting her painted lips. "Do change the record pet I've heard it all already." A scowl contorting her face as she caught sight of her chipped manicure; great a trip to the beauticians as well as shopping, goodness the upkeep needed with a female form.

"Bored now? Any last words I have places to be."

"Look I know you're just trying to scare me…that thing probably doesn't even work." Osgood stuttered her throat suddenly dry as Missy didn't so much as blink but with a playful grin turned her disintegrator on the cowering slaves.

"Well then how about a demonstration?"

"No don't…"

"Pop!"

The savage red mist swirled out and Osgood was paralysed with fear yet instead of the sensation of burning and extricating pain that usually followed Osgood felt the sudden rush of hot hair whooshing past her, like standing too close to a speeding train and feeling the pull yet being just out of its path.

She wasn't dead.

Blinking as she ran hands experimentally over bare trembling arms Osgood could only look up at Missy in mute horror as the time lady seemed to take a deep breath and savour the scent of burnt flesh.

"Hmmm just like home." Missy sighed, a smile pulling about her lips. "Well back in the good ole days." She added chuckling at her own joke as her human continued to stand there like some dumb waiter.

"You killed them." Osgood could feel anger like she had never felt before surging up. It wasn't sane or even sensible but she couldn't have stopped herself now even if she wanted to.

She flew at The Mistress. Hands lashing out she somehow managed to knock the device out of a surprised Missy's hands and it spun across the floor, yet before Osgood could even reach for it Missy's vice like grip closed around her arm and Osgood reacted the way her basic UNIT training had taught her; twisting she used her momentum to roll The Mistress over her shoulder. Yet the time lady was surprisingly heavy for being so slight and her grip on Osgood was an unyielding one, when Missy went down she dragged Osgood down with her.

"Now now Pet there is no need for violence." Missy teased even as she caught her breath and stared down at the pinned Skip. Who knew her little human had it in her?

"You didn't have to kill them they weren't a threat to you. They hadn't done you any harm." Osgood spat back even as she tried her best to break Missy's grip.

"Oh goodness not human self-righteousness?" Missy scoffed relishing the way her little pet fought and squirmed even though it was a futile exercise. "Your species maims and kills its own by the thousands often for far less noble reasons."

"And yet you claim to be better than us, so much for the vaunted time lord superiority!" Osgood hissed back wincing brown eyes glowing with the righteousness of knowing and she watched as Missy finally dropped the nonchalant act and loomed over the human. Scratched red tipped fingernails now dug into soft warm human skin and Osgood couldn't contain the whimper as Missy's strong fingers wrapped around her throat.

"I could snap this pretty neck of yours like a twig Pet…Such a waste…" Missy sighed her eyes blazing with anger and some unnamed emotion as she stroked her other fingers down Osgood's cheek.

Then suddenly it came to her…it was either brilliant or suicidal but honestly right now Osgood wasn't sure there was much distance between the two.

"You're not going to kill me because then you'd be all alone." Osgood insisted, knowing she had finally hit something good when despite her premier acting skills Missy flinched slightly.

"Oh please like a little thing like that would bother me Pet, I have spent most of my life alone without the need The Doctor has for filling up his life and his tardis with the dregs of the universe."

"Exactly." Swallowing nervously Osgood refused to back down, she had pushed Missy, whether it was too far or not far enough remained to be seen but there was no going back now.

"You can be alone but you don't want to be." Osgood whispered now Missy was so very close, close enough to smell the lingering scent of her perfume and the slightly cooler temperature of the time lady's breath on her face.

"You don't need a companion but you want one. You want someone to show off to, you want someone to ask you why and how and say please, and Seb wasn't enough because you made him and because that made him less real to you…because whatever he did to please you would never be enough because it would like pleasing yourself and that's never the same as when someone else does it because they want to." Osgood added, unable to hide the sudden rush of crimson to her cheeks as she heard her words spoken aloud…it hadn't sounded quite that suggestive inside her own head.

Unable to help herself Missy laughed, her little human really was a delightful little surprise sometimes. She did nothing interesting for ages, long enough to lull Missy into thinking she had made a mistake after all, that there was nothing special with this human that set her apart from the rest of the apes. Then now just like in the Nethersphere Osgood showed a flash of insight or clear thinking that Missy had assumed humans incapable of; then of course there was the pure entertainment value that could be had from her pet, that something so very simple could still cause Skip to blush like a virgin amused Missy greatly.

"Hmmm no it really isn't." Missy teased, the claw like grip she had on Skip's throat now softening a little as she rubbed circles with her thumb. "Is that what you are offering Pet, to please me, in exchange for your pathetic excuse for a life?"

"NO" A stammering Osgood all but choked on the lump in her throat, "Not in that…well you know way…but as friends I wanted to be your friend Missy."

"Hmmm be friends with a human I can't think of anything more repulsive and besides methinks the little earthling doth protest too much." Missy giggled, bringing her free hand closer and extending one finger to run the tip of her nail over the cupid's bow of Osgood's lips. "I've been inside your head remember pet I know all about those dirty little thoughts you're ashamed of."

"Really well I once had a dream that I was a professional figures skater but I didn't wake up and throw away my PHD for some lycra and a pair of skates." Osgood retorted trying to remain calm and in control even as Missy spat on her self-esteem. "I cannot help what my subcon…"

"Not in your subconscious silly Skip." Missy cooed. "But fine keep your silly delusions if it makes you happy." She added with a sigh leaning down to nuzzle her face softly against the human girl's cheek…it was soft despite being from a lower species. If it wasn't for their smell and obvious psi-null presence there were very occasional moments when the exceptional human could almost be mistaken for people…well if you shut your eyes and tried hard enough.

Frozen as Missy seemed to sink against her and rub up against her like a cat scent marking its human Osgood could only swallow nervously and wonder if this was a good thing?

"Missy?"

"Shush pet you'll ruin the moment." Missy cooed, her eyelashes falling closed as she actually savoured her pet's scent for once, fear and arousal her favourite combination…if only humans weren't so completely primordial and disgusting.

Lying there is silence Osgood tried her best to calm her racing pulse, to try not to think about the unnaturally strong grip that Missy still had about her throat which on a moments whim the time lady could use to snap her neck much like a twig. Even if for this moment Missy seemed now calm and affectionate Osgood knew The Mistress's mood could turn on a flip of a coin. And it was always going to be like this Osgood knew that much now, for as much as she deluded herself into thinking that Missy could come to care or value her as an individual all of that would mean nothing if the time lady decided to kill her.

And one day when Osgood couldn't pull any more tricks out of the bag she would do…

I should have stayed at home.

Tears began to build in Osgood's brown eyes, tears that she didn't dare cry before, but now the immediate danger was over the reality of what almost happened set in, began to trickle down her cheeks.

"Shush silly Skip." Missy clucked petting pets her wet cheeks, scooping up the little trickles of salt water with her thumb and finger, studying them like Osgood would a puzzle as she rubbed the tears between her red tipped fingers. "I wasn't really going to kill you I promise."

The look that Osgood shot her underlined the fact that her pet human didn't believe that for a second but Missy didn't consider that a bad thing. It wouldn't do for the girl to get too comfortable.

"Hmm I think someone is a little over tired." Missy trilled easing back and releasing her grip on the girl's throat, frowning for a moment as she caught sight of the nasty red and purpling marks that were already imprinted on her skin. Humans were such fragile creatures she sometimes forgot just how delicate they could be…not that it normally concerned her in anyway but perhaps it would be best if she sent Osgood to bed via the med bay just in case.

"I want to go home." Osgood managed to gasp, reaching up to massage her sore throat and wincing at the pain.

"And we will I promise. We'll head right back to the Tardis I promise." Missy shushed her as she got to her feet and began to fuss with her mussed hair as she looked around for her missing disintegrator. "Now where did that…"

"I want to go back to earth." Osgood repeated even as she tried to keep what remained of her dignity in the revealing outfit she was still almost wearing. "I don't want to do this anymore."

Genuinely surprised The Mistress turned back, her bright blue eyes taking in Skip's damp yet determined gaze. "You cannot be serious?"

"I am." Osgood insisted. "So if you are going to kill me because of it just go ahead but I can't…I won't…" Osgood paused finding the words. "I won't let you hurt me or bully me for your own amusement any longer. All I have ever done is try and be your companion, your friend if you would let me, and I was foolish enough to think that just because sometimes I saw you do things that were good that meant that there was something good left inside you…"

"How very noble of you." Missy hissed blue eyes narrowing. "Are you standing there and daring to judge me little human?"

"No." Osgood sighed her brown eyes tired and sad. "There would be no point would there because my opinion means nothing right? After everything I still mean nothing not really. I just so wanted to be right about you…I wanted there to be more…and do you know what is really sad about all this?"

Swallowing Missy resisted the sudden urge to take a step back. To not listen to this insightful little human and her words that cut like a surgeon's knife. "No."

"I still think you are capable of being whatever you want to be, I think you can love just as strongly as you can hate, but I am not strong enough to stick it out. So either kill me now and be done with it or take me home."

Clenching her jaw Missy turned and spotted her disintegrator. Bending down she picked it up, fingertips running over the polished silver surface before she raised her gaze to meet Skip's; yet instead of the thrill of fear that there had been before there was only a look of sad resignation. Raising her weapon Missy focused on her bitter disappointment, this girl, this human who she had deigned to show the stars now wanted to leave her! She allowed her anger to feed and fester; it was always the same, always being left behind, always being abandoned.

The Mistress's fingers tightened on the disintegrator as hard blue eyes stared accusingly down at her former companion, yet the girl merely stared back brown eyes swimming with tears…so sad…so disappointed…so…like…him…in the graveyard.

Depressing the button was an instinct…a need…so easy…it would be a mercy surely…she was just another human…and yet…

"NO!"

The red fire rushed out and nothing.

Blinking in surprise Osgood could only watch as the beam missed her yet again, only this time it was not because there was another target but because The Mistress had suddenly screamed out and pulled her aim askew. For several long moments there was not a single word spoken only The Mistress's heavy breathing and Osgood's own strangled gasps. Missy hadn't killed her. Osgood was dumbfounded. Never in a million light years.

Osgood watched as The Mistress seemed to finally come back to herself, her distant expression suddenly sharpening and those bright blue eyes seemed to regain focus yet when they looked at her there was still something almost dead about them that caused Osgood to shudder.

"Missy?"

Ignoring the girl was easy The Mistress turned and palmed the door lock, the doors slid open and Missy didn't even blink in surprise as half a dozen rifles were now pointed at her from almost point blank range. It seemed the window of opportunity to escape had passed them by and Missy was surprised how little it bothered her even as she was relieved of her weapon and restrained once more.

She hadn't been able to kill her.

Why hadn't she been able to kill her?

It was a puzzle without an answer as far as The Mistress could discern and there was nothing in the universe that the time lady hated more.

-/-


	14. Chapter 14

-/-

Seb's first clue that something was wrong came when the blue skinned Trasken girl suddenly stopped dead in front of him. Unfortunately this frail flesh form he was trapped in lacked the dexterity of Dr Chang's and Seb all but stumbled into her pain jarring up his fragile limbs.

"Move." It wasn't a request punctuated as it was with a rough shove from the armed guard that sent Seb reeling and yet still the trembling girl refused to move; refused to step through into what looked like a rather ornate room with loungers and a deep pool in the middle.

Unable to make out what was so terrifying about what looked like a private spa room not a dungeon filled with implements of torture Seb tried his best to coax her into moving forward yet still the stubborn girl refused to move, her trembling now descending into barely suppressed sobs as she literally shook.

"No…No…Please…"

"Move!" This command was punctuated with a blow across the shoulder with the heavy stick the guard was carrying, but still the girl remained frozen in terror preferring the physical violence to what awaited her in that room.

There was no second warning from the guard a second blow from his heavy cosh he was wielding across the back of head had the girl slump to the floor insensible. Either knocked out or dead Seb didn't know for sure and he stood transfixed unable to tear his eyes away from her slumped body or the rapidly pooling puddle of midnight blue blood that was gathering beneath her.

In all his years in the Nethersphere Seb had become somewhat immune to death as a concept.

After all it was something that happened to humans and he just had to deal with the aftermath. It had become something of a game after a while, like the way human's collected a set of cards or an album of stickers, he collected of all the bizarre ways humans managed to find to die. The more unusual the better in Seb's opinion as he had far too many heart attacks or road accident swapz and no one to pass them on to, not even The Mistress was interested in playing along as she was only interested in the humans who died for or because of the Doctor.

Only it was a little different seeing someone die in front of you, to hear it, to smell it.

Blood smelt, Seb hadn't realised that and it was doing strange things to his stomach.

The guards released the dead or dying girl from the chain gang of slaves leaving her cooling body on the floor and forcing the remaining slaves to simply step over her. Unable to lift his ancient feet high enough Seb was unable to avoid stepping and slipping in the girls blood, scrambling for anything to stop him falling Seb could only watch in horror as his ancient body crumpled to the floor. The jarring sensation of pain as his limbs connected heavily with the hard ground and the stomach churning sensation as the gluttonous cooling blood seeped over his fingers and stained his already vile slave uniform dark.

Scrambling for purchase Seb somehow got to his feet before one of the guards decided to beat him bloody as well. Staggering forward he followed the rest of the reluctant slaves into the spa room. It was only when he was inside that the reason for the dead girl's reluctance became more obvious. Hanging over the pool was a makeshift hanging mechanism, akin to the dipping stools humans once used to torture innocent women accused of witchcraft. Yet it was the creature contained inside, bound to the seat that really drew Seb's attention…

That couldn't be…Even in this ancient form Seb could feel his cheeks beginning to burn only he wasn't sure if it was in anger or…Osgood! Even now that bloody human had to somehow make it about her.

"Excellent the entertainment has arrived." A familiar sneering voice pronounced, only it wasn't the particular condescension Seb had been hoping for, and he tried his best to shuffle behind one of the bigger slaves lest the odious little Mentor Sil caught sight of him.

Yet it seemed the Overseer was far too interested in silly little Osgood for some reason to pay attention to mere slaves and for that Seb thanked his lucky stars. Now if he could only figure out where The Mistress had gotten to they could leave, perhaps if they agreed to leave pesky Osgood behind to distract Overseer Sil the stupid little slug wouldn't even notice they had left?

"Let me go. Whatever sick little entertainment you have planned I want no part in it!" Osgood demanded tugging at her bonds yet it seemed the guards had learnt their lessons and although they weren't tight enough to cut off her circulation there was no way she could free herself from the new restraints.

"Oh but my dear I do insist after all you are our star attraction." Sil oozed. "And after I have gone to so much trouble and expense you really must play along at least for your Dear Doctor's benefit if not mine."

"And I keep telling you he's not my Dear Doctor." Osgood sighed. "I don't mean anything to him."

"Now if that were true, which I believe it isn't, then I would have no more use for you than I do those slaves or your troublesome companion."

At Sil's casual reference to Missy Osgood felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. She hadn't seen the time lady since the guards had recaptured them and she had been brought here. "Where is she? What have you done with her?"

"I believe your pet humans like to call it extracting a pound of flesh." Sil replied his sharp teeth glinting as his dark eyes narrowed maliciously. "An eye for an eye. Only among my people we savour the process of extracting payment, revenge is like racta stew, best served cold. First comes the pain, then the payment and lastly the sweet embrace of death."

"So you have met The Mistress." Osgood retorted brown eyes narrowing in disgust, as much as she loathed the terrible things the time lady had done and was capable of, right now she would almost be willing to see The Mistress extract her own form of payment on Sil.

Only she knew that not only would Kate and The Doctor be disappointed in her, Osgood knew she would be disappointed in herself, the old her that was the one who still dreamt of travelling the stars with a smile on her face. Yet there was still enough of the old her left to give the Mentor a final chance, still enough of the courage that had seen her give her inhaler to her mentor twin to avoid complicating an already complex peace negotiation.

"If you let us go now I might be able to save your life." Osgood added dark eyes softening in compassion even for such a vile creature as the Overseer.

"How very generous my dear." Sil sneered. "However I assure you it is not my life that is at stake." He added waving imperiously towards one of the hovering attendants. "Fill it."

The attendant turned a hidden switch, and Seb watched in confusion and Osgood in horror as the empty pool began to fill with mud.

"Stop you don't know what you're…" Osgood began only to be cut off by Sil who laughed.

"On the contrary my dear I know exactly what I am doing." The Mentor trilled, waving for one of his many slave attendants to fill up a glass beaker with the liquid mud and bring it to him.

"Such a simple little thing." Sil mused holding the now full beaker up to the light and Osgood noted the distinctive lighter tone than the murderous pools they had encountered in the planet's dangerous underbelly.

"It's lighter."

"Oh you noticed." Sil trilled in a pleased fashion. "Yes this is my little miracle in its natural state. When we first colonised you could find this liquid gold everywhere, just dig a few feet under the surface and there it was bubbling away. Of course at the time none of us were particularly interested, we came here to harvest the gas for the Consortium. It's almost ironic that what we once thought of as an annoying by-product of this desolate place was actually the true treasure worth more than a hundred times what the gas could fetch."

"Murdering mud." Osgood snapped back. "A true treasure?"

"Oh there are always negative side effects when one is looking for a miracle, and for my customers the life enhancing and lengthening effects are a true miracle and one that makes people willing to overlook the occasional… accident."

"Accident? People died!"

"Slaves died, slaves are not people. And besides even side-effects can have their uses." Sil retorted imperially waving one of the guards forward. "Perhaps a demonstration is in order? Put them in." He added waving towards the group of slaves.

One by one the frightened slaves were pushed still bound in their heavy chain into the filling pool. Nothing happened. It was anticlimactic from Seb's perspective as he felt the warm mud slip and surround him, he had expected something for at least one of them cry out in pain at least, not look about nervously as if waiting for the other shoe to drop. Then slowly his fears began to ease away…it was so warm… Why had that Trasken girl reacted so badly if all that happened was this?

Osgood watched as one by one the slaves began to relax, their faces taking on a slack almost euphoric expression.

"It really is quite fascinating to watch isn't it?" Sil added from his hover chair, his greedy eyes flickering between the half submerged slaves and Osgood's horrified expression.

"Right now my precious mud is sucking all the negative thoughts and energy out of them and replacing it positively charged energy, it's a fascinating feeding process, of course normally it does this with the gas that was its natural food source, dining through osmosis. The benefit to my customers in manifold it can stop the aging process dead in its tracks for most, just a dozen or so treatments a year and you can remain young…well at least until your body develops a resistance but then there are other treatments available to deal with that little problem."

"You starved it, you stole its source of food and now you're using it to make money out of vain rich people."

"Indeed this planet is the gift that keeps on giving." Sil snorted. "Of course like any chemical equation balance is all important and an excess of negative energy has the most interesting results."

"I know what it does." Osgood spat. "I've seen where you dump your waste."

Smiling broadly flashing his sharp little teeth Sil clapped his clawed hands together. "Why then you know what is coming next. Excellent I do so love a knowledgeable audience. So now it's time for the second course."

"Is this where you threaten to kill me?" Osgood stuttered, swallowing down the bile that was burning the back of her throat.

"Oh no my dear you are far too important to simply kill…well not just yet at any rate." Sil insisted, pressing a button on his chair and a few moments later the door to the room opened once more and in marched two more guards dragging something between them…no not something someone and Osgood once more felt then rush of nausea as she recognised the dead weight that was dropped in front of Sil's chair.

"Missy."

Missy bound and gagged and bleeding, bright blue eyes blinked slowly the dark pupils widely dilated even in the bright room and Osgood felt real fear grip her for the first time. Despite their argument, despite demanding to be taken home Osgood realised part of her had been expecting Missy to storm in and save her at the last minute just like The Doctor.

Yet The Mistress was currently in position to save anyone, not even herself it seemed.

"Now my dear the time for games is over. I want your ship and I want your Doctor and you are going to give them to me." Sil insisted his foul breath sibilant against her cheek.

"Or you can join your murderous little friend?" He added and with a wave of his stubby little arm one of the guards kicked Missy's prone form like a sack of wet cement, digging the boot into her rigid back, pushing her back…rolling her over…

And with Osgood's scream echoing in her ears The Mistress fell and the warm welcoming embrace of oblivion rushed up to greet her.

-/-


	15. Chapter 15

-/-

The twin suns were warm on her face, somewhere far in the distance the bells in the citadel began to chime the beautiful delicate melody that was once as familiar as breathing and yet somehow The Mistress had forgotten it. There was the scent of newly blooming flowers in the air and a warm breeze carried their perfume causing her nose to twitch as she drew in a lung full and held it, held it until it burned…

There were long dexterous fingers threading through her hair, stroking it gently enough not to pull and yet they tugged on her curls and ran soothingly back and forth caressing any lingering cares away. Releasing her held breathe Missy relished the way those strong fingers stroked and tugged her head back and in an unusually obliging mood she allowed herself to be guided, her reward was the teasing press of lips against her forehead. Warm breath with a hint of sweet mint brushed her skin and The Mistress felt a smile tug at her lips.

_Thete_

It wasn't a question; Missy knew the one whose embrace she was languishing in as well as she knew herself. She knew that touch, that particular warmth that only her former lover could bring to the dark recesses of her mind.

Whom else's embrace could bring her such simple joy? Soothing away any flicker of fear or doubt or…pain…

There was pain, lingering for a moment on the edge and The Mistress frowned there had been men with bats and for a moment she could have sworn she heard…

_Shush just relax I've got you. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again_

Frowning for a moment as she struggled to catch hold of that fleeting thought Missy finally allowed it flee unpursued as sweet warm lips descended once more this time teasing her twitching nose before finally latching down on her own waiting lips.

Oh my love Missy all but purred as she breathed him in, down and drowning in him but there was no other way she would rather finally leave this mortal coil than in his arms. She could feel him now, his arms around her, his mouth claiming her own stealing her breath, his mind sinking into her own faster and deeper and with more skill than Missy had given him credit it for. Like roots the tendrils of his thoughts burrowed down and Missy found other thoughts and memories suddenly sparking and flashing across her consciousness.

Running and burning…fighting and loving…blue…the silvery blue of her Doctor's latest eyes and the bright cloudless of blue of an earth sky in summer.

Deeper and deeper he burrowed and Missy began to squirm in discomfort. It was too much…too deep…like Thete wasn't just inside her he was everywhere.

_Stop_

It wasn't a request it was a command and The Mistress was used to being obeyed.

_No…More…Need…_

Was the hungry demand that echoed back in her mind, the voice losing some of its earlier sweetness. The precious illusion shattering in her mind as she finally felt the wolf shed its sheep's clothing and bare its hungry teeth.

_Show me more_

All pretence of calmness was dropped and like a wild ravenous beast it savaged her memories, at first there was no discernible pattern but all too soon The Mistress realised what it was looking for…Colour…Sensation…Happiness. She relived blond curls running through her fingers, brown eyes tilted up at her with innocent delight as sweat pooled on a top lip still speckled with the downy fluff of youth, the overwhelming pleasure of that first sweet possession.

_No_

Somehow she forced it out; protectively hovering over those precious memories like a lioness would protect her cubs from a ravenous pack of hyenas.

_You are us and other, you must share_

_Not him_

Missy all but growled back growing her own claws as she lashed out, this was her mind she had home court advantage even if she was unable to match the invader for pure psychic power she wasn't going down without a fight.

_Why fight, we are one, you can be us, we can be him_

_You can never be him only a pale imitation_

Missy countered unable to reassemble her battered shields she opted for the last resort available to her, attack.

-/-

As she watched Missy vanish beneath the surface Osgood couldn't help but scream out her protest.

"No you can't…you don't understand…" Osgood spluttered as beneath her the mud pool began to churn. "You have to get her out of there or we're all as good as dead!"

"What did you do?" Sil's voice demanded as he hid behind his large guards watching in growing horror as the mud began to roll and surge, like sudden tidal waves had caught it it surged and rushed towards them and dashed itself on the edge of the pool.

Crawling up as high as her bounds would allow Osgood couldn't help the squeak of panic that escaped her lips as the mud seemed to surge up towards her before crashing back down and swished out in turbulent ripples in all directions, surges that knocked into the panicking slaves and sucked their screaming forms back under before surging back up again towards Sil and his guards.

"It's your monster!" Osgood spat back brown eyes raking the turbulent pool for any glimpse of The Mistress, yet it seemed the time lady had sunk like a stone and Osgood could only imagine that she was already completely encased. Someone had to get her out of there, to get them all out of there.

"No it's never behaved like that before…You did something!" Sil accused her, jabbing one shaking claw in her direction. "You make it stop or I'll drop you in too!" He added his fingers closing around a lever on the arm if his hover chair warningly.

"No you did something!" Osgood spat back her brown eyes filling with tears as she stared down the Mentor. "You fed it the only other Time Lord in the universe!"

"You…You…Lied…" Sil was so angry he seemed to literally shake, either from rage or from fear or from both as the ground beneath their feet back to rumble ominously.

"You did this. You've doomed us all." He added as the valves that had pumped the pure mud into the room suddenly began to buckle and more mud began to spray out.

Screaming as the bubbling mud made contact with his skin Sil lost not a second more, he activated his hover chair, knocking into several of his guards in his blind panic to escape not even caring enough to pause as they were knocked into the surging mud pool. Horrified Osgood could watch as the being that had caused all of this managed by some sick sort of luck to make it around the room to the only exit.

"No you can't…" Osgood began watching and knowing that it was too late as the wounded mentor turned back to smile through his burnt flesh his free hand hovering over the lever on his chair that controlled her prison. Then with sadistic glee he pushed it down and Osgood felt the ground drop away.

-/-

Seb's wonderful feeling of bliss had been shattered by a scream, Osgood's scream.

Then all around him the soothing mud began to churn and Seb felt his still queasy stomach flip in a most disconcerting way. Fighting against the tide and the heavy chains that weighed him down the A.I tried his best to battle to the side only to slip and be dragged under. Fighting against drowning in the heavy mud Seb fumbled awkwardly in his tunic, his bound wrists knocking against the weapon he had kept hidden…if he could just get it free…

For a moment he was so close his fingers trailed along the edge of the sleek handle as he came up choking for air. Yet it seemed victory and defeat were merely a hairs width apart as just as Seb's fingers were closing around the handle something heavy crashed down onto him and the damn thing slipped out of his grasp lost. Unable to even scream his frustration Seb was trampled over, this old flesh suit unable to hold its footing as the heavy weight on his back tried to climb and crawl…away from…

As his head disappeared once more under the surface Seb had to wonder if his eyes were deceiving him entirely…that couldn't be…When was that damn woman going to stop ruining his life?

-/-

It could have only been a few minutes or it could have been a hundred years The Mistress had lost all flow of time which for a time lord felt a akin to having a limb ripped away. She had pursued her quarry around the Medusa Cascade, Orion's belt and down into the caves of Trisk and it/they had counter attacked driving her to flee to the temporal schism and the barrier she had created around it, the last place in the universe she would normally visit even if it was only in her own mindscape.

Wincing as if winded Missy backed away feeling the gnawing tug of the rip in time behind her pulling and dragging her backwards, the ever open festering wound in her mind. The one part of her mind she had always fled from yet no matter how high she built her walls around it there was no blocking it completely. The drums had always found a way to seep through. Now her mind was silent of their four beat rhythm yet the sheer barrenness of the surrounding landscape caused even Missy to shiver. It was dead much like she would be if she couldn't win this battle.

Once this part of her mind had been lush and green, it had housed the memories of her childhood, of her life before her initiation and the introduction of the fracture in time and space that was now housed within her very mind had decimated this part of her mindscape. Rassilon had forced that fissure and over the years the drums had steadily widened it, allowing The Mistress an unnatural affinity for time, unnatural even for a member of her own species and yet in reality it had stolen from her for more than she had gained.

Empathy…Love…Compassion…Sanity…

Once she had been able to feel these things strongly now they were muted or simply non-existent. Her memories of her parents and loom siblings were equally stripped bare; the essentials were there but little more remained the Schism had sucked them dry.

There had been a time during her incarceration and torture at Rassilon's hands when The Mistress had seriously considered taking down those shields around the Schism and throwing her consciousness through. Yet there had always been the slim hope of escape or rescue and suicide had never been an answer for The Master, not when there was no established back up plan for her resurrection. Yet there were times when Rassilon would break both her mind and her body that Missy had been sorely tempted to escape by any means.

_You cannot leave us…we are many you are one…_

Mentally sneering as she gathered what remained of her energy Missy would have been panting if she needed to breathe. Trapped between an invader and the Schism she barely had the energy to maintain a basic shield.

_I will never surrender, I have defeated Death do you really think I am going to let some primordial slime conquer me?_

Missy insisted feeling the other hesitate, its confusion washing over her. Unable to believe that this wasn't a trap Missy allowed one or two memories of her bittersweet victories to surface, the memory of her standing victorious over the earth as its children screamed was a particularly potent one and one that caused the Doctor wearing other to shiver and recoil.

_No not conquer…join_

Its plea was almost…almost tender and The Mistress staggered under the sudden wave of fear and longing and confusion that seemed to surge out and over her.

Alone…so alone…loneliness and abandonment on a scale that The Mistress could feel resonate deeply within her. She knew what it was like to feel like that, isolated…abandoned…without hope…Other minds had come before her but they weren't compatible and in the end they poisoned them…The other had tried to reach them to sustain them and sustain themselves but they had failed and the strangers had vanished into the void.

_Yes_

There was relief as well following so quickly on the wave of the first that Missy actually buckled under the weight of it. She was a powerful telepath but in the past she had used her powers to shut out the emotions of others. They were undisciplined and intrusive, Missy couldn't understand how The Doctor could stand it, even with his defective telepathic abilities and the relative psi null status of most humans they were still noisy creatures. All bubbling away, emotively reacting to everything as they oozed and sweated and stank up their pathetic little planet.

_What do you want?_

Missy demanded shivering as the Doctor wearing other fixed those blue eyes on her pleading, his hands outstretched just like she had always dreamed of him being.

_Join…Join…Stay with us…Don't leave…Please…Don't leave us all alone again…_

Then it was sending again, a strong sense of loss…of a hazy species memory of being full and content and loved and then the gradual encroachment of hunger and fear and then suddenly the absence of the other entirely, of the slow march of death as one by one the other shrank as it starved and decayed. Yet worse horror was yet to come as parts would suddenly be lost, like limbs or organs removed without anaesthetic and the mud screamed out it's terror into the universe; a scream loud enough to carry across the stars.

Its distress was almost palpable as was the way it seemed to cling and plead at her thoughts like a terrified child would its mother's skirts.

Missy could feel the other reach out and capture that image, watched it as it warped itself and wrapped itself around it, quickly shedding the image of The Doctor as it shrank and familiar blue eyes now stared up at her from a cherubic face that was a perfect mix of her and Thete. Tauntingly perfect and Missy could only shrink backward unsettled by this new form of attack.

_Please stay_

It pleaded up at her with his eyes and her lips pushing out its need like an unstoppable psychic wave.

Sinking to her knees as her last shield buckled Missy couldn't so much as lift a mental muscle to push it away when the imaginary child moved and sank down into her lap. Tender little fingers reached up to brush tears from her cheeks as Missy was forced to confront the very vision of what she might have had if Rassilon hadn't planted the drums or The Doctor hadn't destroyed the very looms that offered them both a second chance.

Love…acceptance…compassion…

The very things she had never again expected to feel directed at her, not the destroyer or worlds. The Mistress now could feel them flowing over her like a warm comfort blanket that was ever so slowly suffocating her. Using what little strength she had left she gathered this little changeling child close, her fingers reaching up to stroke its hair gently as it sank into her consciousness and feasted ravenously upon her memories, its hunger insatiable. And yet as it took from her it gave back too and Missy could feel the regurgitated positive emotions pouring back into her in stomach churning proportions.

Yet it wasn't just the unprecedented influx of positive emotions that was causing her hands to shake…

She was dying.

Missy was still aware of her physical limitations even so deep within her own mind and she could feel the connection with her mortal form growing weaker with every second that passed, as the changeling absorbed more and more of what made The Mistress a time lord in an effort to sustain itself. She didn't have the strength to rid herself of this parasite and as her fingers raked through imaginary dark curls Missy found she lacked the will to even try it was such a sweet illusion…and yet…

There in the darkness she could something…someone crying…someone calling for her…

Was it Thete, could he somehow sense that she was close to leaving him the last living time lord in this universe?

Would he even care enough to stop her? After all her death at another's hand would free him of the guilt and the responsibility.

As she cuddled the changeling child close, soaking up the total acceptance and unconditional love that she could never remember feeling from anyone else in the entire universe, Missy could feel the pieces of her fragmented soul and the barrenness in her ravaged mindscape once more grow lush and green under its care. She could just let go, could become one with the hive mind that called out to her and she'd never be alone again.

-/-


	16. Chapter 16

-/-

It was worse than Osgood remembered. At least last time it had been a relatively shallow pool and she been armed with Missy's lethal umbrella. This time Osgood had been dropped from a reasonable height into a deeper pool of churning psychic mud that was already pretty full with panicking and drowning slaves and guards. Fortunately for Osgood her fall had been broken by some poor soul that she had crashed into and despite the danger to herself Osgood did her best to reach down and drag the poor old man back to the surface.

"Sor…" Osgood began only to be cut off by a look of pure venom.

"YOU!" The old slave sneered. "It's always bloody YOU, I knew we should have left you on the Nethersphere!" He added flailing futilely before sinking back under the surface for a moment.

Blinking in surprise Osgood did her best to keep herself afloat as he bobbed back to the surface. "Seb?" She stuttered in horror. It was unthinkable and yet Missy had been adamant that the Dr Chang lookalike that had interrogated them earlier hadn't been Seb.

"Yes who else's life do you conspire to ruin?" Seb choked out. "I was getting out of here, I was finally going to see the galaxy until The Mistress brought you along…You and your damn silly human sensibilities you're going to get us all killed!"

"Yeah because being a slave bound in chains that was really going to happen." Osgood snapped back her hands flailing wildly as the mud around them seemed to swirl inward now, like some terrible sort of whirlpool.

"I had a plan and a weapon until your stupid lump of a body landed on me!" Seb retorted even as he struggled against the tide.

"Wait…" Osgood reached out grabbing hold of his tunic to try and keep them together. "You have a weapon?"

"Had." Seb retorted. "I lost it because of you…It down there somewhere." He added jerking his head down into the muddy foaming mess, then seeing the reckless look that came over Osgood's face Seb could only shake his head in futile protest. "No even YOU wouldn…"

Yet it seemed stupid Osgood was determined to ignore his sensible advice as she took a deep breath and actually willingly plunged into the tar like mud.

Down…She had to go down…which it appeared was far harder than Osgood had supposed it would be. The mud around her kept battering her about and soon she had little remaining sense of direction not to mention her lungs were burning. Not now…not now…She had to focus she couldn't afford an asthma attack now. It had been over twenty four hours since she had taken Missy's medicine for her pathetic excuse for a pair of lungs even for an ape, Missy choice of words not Osgood's and she was long overdue another dose.

Her hands flailing about for a hand hold, for something Osgood's fingers finally scraped over what could only be the smooth tiled bottom of the pool. Running her hands over the bottom Osgood practically squeaked in surprise and horror as her fingers brushed over what had to be someone's arm…some dead person's arm…they weren't moving and for a moment Osgood relived that moment that Missy was dumped into the pool like a wet sack of concrete.

Was that her?

Was it terrible that when she ran her hand over the obviously dead body she was relieved not to feel the long sleeves of The Mistress's jacket?

Focus Osgood! She chastised herself, forcing her mind to think, think there had be something she could do other than searching blindly like this? She wasn't an action hero after all, not one of those brave bright companions The Doctor chose to travel with but she had her brains and it was time she started using them and stopped waiting for Missy or someone else to step in and save her. Already she could feel the drain from having been in the pool for only a few minutes, it was like all energy was slowly being drained out of her making her movements and her brain sluggish.

Osgood had to get out of the pool; she had to be able to think…

Pushing her feet down on the bottom of the pool Osgood forced her way back to the surface spluttering and generally grasping for anything to hold herself steady. Finding the wall Osgood searched for any sign of Seb but her eyesight had always been pretty terrible and it really was difficult to make out anything but shifting brown blobs at this distance.

"Seb?" Osgood called out, her heart sinking when there was no answer.

Somehow she managed to drag herself out of the pool, yet there was no getting past the wave of mud that was now spreading out across the room like an every growing glistening carpet it coated the floor and slowly the walls pushing into every nook and crevice. Was it looking for weaknesses or a way out Osgood didn't know but there was no denying the methodical way it was moving. The scientist inside her was marvelling at such a thing, the human part of her wanted to curl up and hide, but it was the scientist that Osgood needed.

Only at the moment the scientist in her felt locked away beyond reach; the familiar tightness in her chest and the feeling akin to a pair of scales on her chest to which someone was continually adding weights made it difficult to think of anything but forcing that next breath.

No…No…She didn't have time for this now. The fact that Osgood knew she didn't have her inhaler only made the panic harder to manage. Pulling on her UNIT training Osgood did her best to picture Kate Letherbridge-Stewart, her boss had always been what Osgood had aspired to become, brilliant, witty and composed at all times. Right now she could almost hear Kate's voice in her head repeating at length the basic tenants of the calming almost meditative techniques they had tried to impart as part of UNIT's basic survival training. That Osgood had scored poorly on that section of her training didn't exactly help encourage optimism. She had only scraped a pass mark thanks to her almost photographic memory that had at least managed to allow her to identify safe foods to eat and to use the stars to navigate. Well that was hardly encouraging but right now she had to push away past failures.

Sitting upright Osgood did her best to slow her breathing pushing against the weight in her chest to take longer, deeper breaths. Breathing in through her nose and breathe out through her mouth she ran through basic mathematical calculations in her head, forcing herself to focus on something other than her own desperate situation to try and stay as calm as possible. Eventually calculations and computations gave way to raking her impressive memory for any reference or article or experiment she could think of that would help her out here.

Mud…regardless of what other properties this alien mud contained it was still at its core mud, simply topsoil and water, and Osgood wracked her brain for the limited biological scientific articles and research she had occasionally picked up whilst lolling about in the UNIT Kitchen waiting for the water for her pot noodle to boil.

What else did she know about it other than it apparently hated fire? Which considering water made up a significant proportion of its mass made sense. Water and fire equalled heat and heat equalled steam and steam dried it out…

Steam…steam could kill….

Well bacteria certainly and Osgood remembered some scrap of an article about mud and bacteria that one of the bio technicians had left. Something about mud in the sea floor that is packed with ultrathin multicellular bacteria that generate electricity…

Bacteria that behaved like electrical cables, capable of conducting electricity over a distance of several centimetres in order to access food in negative charge energy centimetres below the seafloor and then oxygen from the sea water. Osgood had briefly entertained the idea of setting up a Microbial Fuel Cell in her UNIT lab to see how some of the alien tech they had recovered could extend the length of the electrical conduits before yet another crisis cropped up.

What if that was what was happening here?

Alien bacteria living in the mud that was somehow connected to one another by similar conduits only instead of just sharing electrical impulses they were capable to some sort of psychic connection?

It was wild speculation but it made more scientific sense than a weird alien psychic mud monster more some akin to one of the terrible horror B movies her on off university boyfriend had been so obsessed with.

Yet even if she was right what on earth could she do to stop it? She wasn't telepathic like the Mistress; she wasn't even armed with anything more than a wild theory.

Osgood was trapped in this room, on this planet and the only two people who could have helped her were probably dead and as much as she tried not to think about it Osgood couldn't forget that the last things she had said to both Seb and Missy had been either pointless or cruel. If she could go back in time and change things she would but right now the best she could hope for was escape, to somehow make it back to Missy's Tardis and use the communication systems to send out a message and hope that The Doctor picked it up.

Then across the room there was a sudden flash and Osgood watched as something crawled out of the pool, hope clawing at her throat.

"Missy?"

Yet as the mud covered creature turned weapon raised and wiped the slime from its face Osgood quickly realised it wasn't the time lady.

"Seb… you found it…you can get us out of here!"

Sneering at the sheer audacity of that bloody human female Seb managed to drag his exhausted aching body away from the edge, firing his energy weapon at the bloody mud that dared to creep back towards him, savouring the way it turned black and crumbly and retreated away from him.

Everything about him hurt, from the bruises from being trampled over and fallen on, to this strange tightness in his chest and the way he could barely feel his arms, pin pricks of pain and sensation running up and down them.

"If you could just get the door open." Osgood was still shouting instructions at him from across the room.

"I don't take orders from you!" Seb snapped back his slippery numb fingers itching around the trigger as he swung the weapon back to point at Osgood…it would be so simple…just one little pulse and he would never have to put up with that bloody human ever again and then maybe The Mistress would realise just foolish she had been wasting her time on such a pathetic creature.

He was going to shoot her. It really shouldn't have surprised her the way it did, after all Seb had already tried to kill her once when he pushed her out of Missy's Tardis and left her to die. Osgood knew the A.I. hadn't particularly warmed to her in the month they had all spent together on the Tardis but had thought all the time she had invested teaching him how to live in and look after his new body might have counted for something?

"Seb please I know we haven't always gotten along but surely none of that matters now," Osgood insisted swallowing down the fear as her fellow companion held his weapon on her. "We have to work together now and at least try and save her."

For a moment Seb stared at Osgood in blind confusion before he put together her words and gesturing, watching in horror as the retreating mud began to pool and rise like a growing monolith. Only this time it took on a rather familiar looking shape and there in the middle, for a moment bobbing to the surface before being swallowed back into the belly of the beast, was a face he knew better than his own…The Mistress…

-/-

Pain it was jarring sensation.

The changeling child in her arms was crying out.

Make them stop

It was hurting….someone was hurting it…hurting them….

She could feel it now through her growing connection with the hive, sharp flashes of pain then sudden silence, as if suddenly cut off, the whole suddenly less.

It had to be stopped. Whoever, whatever it was responsible.

She had to stop it.

Reaching out to the hive she felt their love and gratitude flow back into her along with a sudden influx of energy and Missy reached out and took control…oh it was easy…so easy…Her mind flowing over and around them exploring the myriad of connections that tied them all as one. The only comparable experience was the Time Lord Matrix which acted as a species memory storage but even that was a mere hedge maze compared to this labyrinth of connections.

Again another flash of pain and voices silenced.

Please…Please Mother

The hive cried out in terror and Missy did her best to sooth them, yet it was alien to her, comforting was not something she had much practice at…but revenge…oh now that she was an expert at.

No more The Mistress commanded reaching out with the power the hive had gifted, who needed eyes to see when she could hear their thoughts, when she could taste their fear? No she would swipe out these little pests, exterminate them like the insects they were and then she would reclaim this planet, would drive out the diseased population that dared to crawl over its surface and burrow under its precious skin stealing and murdering.

-/-

Another blast from the energy weapon and more mud turned to ash.

"Seb don't you might hit her!"

"Better her than us." Seb muttered mutinously under his breath ignoring the stupid Osgood's childish plea as he took aim once again, this time firing on the pillar of mud that reached out like a hand towards them. The blast of energy connected and the mud crumbled into dust yet still the rest kept coming.

"You're just antagonising it!" Osgood snapped doing her best to keep out of reach and inch closer to the door.

"Well I don't see you coming up with any bright ideas!" Seb hissed back as this pathetic excuse for a body continued to fail him.

His hands…his old wizened hands were shaking s badly it was hard to maintain his aim. That and this damn mud he was caked in felt like he was trapped inside a furnace, it was just so hot and he was so tired and that damn girl kept yelling at him…yelling…Seb frowned as he struggled to make out what Osgood was saying as the world around him seemed to tilt.

His momentary distraction proved fatal, the ground beneath him suddenly shifted, his legs pulled out from under him.

With the Mud monster between them Osgood could only watch in horror as Seb fell, the weapon dropping from his hands to land uselessly on the floor. She called out to him yet Seb was either ignoring her or he couldn't hear her. Osgood watched as the A.I. was practically swallowed whole by the tide.

Trapped she was trapped, her only exit was blocked and now the monster was turning and it was coming directly for her. There was seemingly no escape and Osgood braced herself, muttering a small prayer under her breath to whatever being in the universe that might hold some sway over her little life.

There was no clap of thunder or flash of light, no miraculous saviour swinging in at the last moment but as the mud advanced Osgood caught a fleeting glimpse of a familiar face bobbing to the surface, watched in astonishment as that face drew in a breath before beginning to submerge once more. With no other plan and ignoring the part of herself that screamed at her to be sensible to think and not fling herself into mindless danger, Osgood rushed forward to greet the swarm her arms reaching out and searching and then grabbing hold for dear life.

Scrabbling for the sensation of skin and not cloth or mud, Osgood pushed every sense of panic aside her will bent to one purpose only and focused on one being.

Mistress

-/-


	17. Chapter 17

-/-

Mistress

It was jarring hearing her name, like a sudden song or smell that triggered a powerful memory. Reaching out with her enhanced abilities Missy could feel the hive tugging on her but she had never been one to take direction well and any resistance to her will only served to make her more determined. Besides there was always time enough for death and destruction and Missy wouldn't simply let an opportunity to do both pass her by.

Mistress please

There was genuine distress now and it evoked in Missy's memory the almost salty taste of tears, such a human emotion it would have turned her stomach if she had a stomach left to turn…or maybe she still did as the human emotion washed over her and Missy was not unaffected by it. In a fit of unexpected kindness she gathered the distressed consciousness close to her. It took little effort now, like slipping into a hot bath, human minds were so very simple and lacking even the most basic defences and there….there she was.

And now Missy recognised her. It was almost startling just how much of herself she had already begun to lose into the hive consciousness and for a moment The Mistress struggled to put a name to the being whose mind she now slipped through.

Skip…Skippy…Osgood. Yes that doe eyed little human that had been following her about and Missy was surprised at the surge of something that was a strange combination of frustration and something that almost tasted like amusement and was that…fondness?

The changeling child in her arms began to squirm and protest at the sudden lack of undivided attention and Missy found herself scowling down at that perfect little face.

"You need to learn to share love." Missy chided her beloved child gently even as she wiped the tears from its angelic little face. "Osgood is not one of the enemy."

Other…Other doesn't understand…they hurt us…

"If Osgood even thinks about hurting you then I will stop her." Missy promised even as she reached out and brought the fading human consciousness into her mindscape and watched in particularly amusement as the human girl lay there struggling to breath.

"Now now Pet try using that mind you are so famed for." Missy called out sarcastically as the girl's eyes finally opened and brown eyes stared up into verdant blue.

This was not what Osgood had been expecting, she had stepped into the pits hell and there had been only darkness and now suddenly she was in this desolate place so far from the spa room but Missy was here…

"This isn't real." Osgood grasped that quickly enough, her experiences in the Nethersphere and from being trapped in her own mind had taught her something after all.

"Oh Skip dear it may have no physical location but that doesn't mean it isn't real." Missy teased as she shifted the child onto her hip and reached up to stroke through its dark curls.

"Missy!" Osgood's relief was genuine as was the brief expression of pleasure that shuttered across her face. "Oh thank goodness I was so wor…" Osgood began only to trail off as she caught sight of the thing Missy was cradling in her arms.

To call it a child was a kindness it did not deserve even if Missy seemed to be treating it as one. It was monstrous; a huge maw of a mouth bared a thousand odd sharp teeth at her, snapping them at her in warning.

"Hush sweetheart Osgood won't hurt you." Missy cooed and Osgood could only watch as the time lady actually placed a kiss on that monstrous creatures head…or what Osgood assumed was its head.

It was wrapped around Missy like a creeper around a tree, too many little vein like vines to count were wrapped around her throat her arms, her chest, some were even slowly making their way up and over the top of the time lady's head and yet Missy seemed entirely oblivious.

"Missy what is that?" Osgood could barely keep the fear and revulsion from her voice.

"A child what does it look like?" Missy huffed rolling her eyes at the human's lack of perception. "My child…my neverwere child." She added gazing down into eyes that were so achingly familiar as she ruffled dark curls.

"It looks like a monster to me."

Clearly that had been the wrong thing to say as not only did the vicious looking creature turn its eyes upon Osgood in a now quite decidedly unfriendly manner but Missy herself pulled back her expression rapidly cooling.

"Watch what you call monster little earthling!" Missy spat. "Always ready to cast down what you don't understand, to label things monsters and freaks like your species is so very superior."

"So says the time lord." Osgood was quick to point out and it seemed to hit the mark as Missy actually flinched.

"Where there is an actual superiority of being that cannot be helped!" Missy spat back holding her child closer as if afraid Osgood would come and rip it out of her arms and she backed away from the human. Yet there was little ground left to move to…the area around them was slowly growing dark and only the ever constant ripple of the temporal schism at her back seemed to provide an anchor.

Make her leave she scares me Mother. She wants to take you away.

"Forgive me but I would think a truly superior being wouldn't feel the need to flaunt that fact." Osgood retorted. Yet arguing with The Mistress wasn't going to get them anywhere other than entrench their position on opposite sides. "A truly superior being would know when to listen to their co…to their friend." Osgood tried in a calmer more conciliatory tone.

"I have no friends remember Skip." Missy retorted surprised how the little earth girls words twisted in her gut, how ironic that now she wanted something she claimed friendship when only earlier... "Because there is nothing left inside me worth being friends with. Isn't that right? That's why everyone leaves me The Doctor even the pathetic excuse for a human I deigned to take on as a companion."

Refusing to allow Missy's barbs long enough to sink in Osgood was almost relieved to hear the time lady fighting back, at least that meant she was getting through to her and yet worryingly she was rapidly running out of time. Even in the mindscape she could feel herself growing weaker, she was dying out there…her body was dying and it would all be for nothing.

"I wanted to be your friend not just your companion." Osgood whispered sadly.

"How very generous of you." Missy drawled sarcastically. "Well I don't need you or you friendship, I don't need anyone else now I have my new family, they need me and love me for who I am not what they think I could be!"

"Like a glutton loves its lunch." Osgood replied shaking her head dark brown eyes pleading as she begged Missy to see the truth in them even as her legs gave way under her and she shakily crashed to the floor.

"Can't you see what you have cradled in your arms Mistress, its killing you and killing me…If you have ever once trusted anything I have said or valued me in the slightest the please just look, really look!"

She lies. Bad Other…

Yet Missy hesitated. The darkness was growing and it was full of a growing sense of terror, of foreboding and there out of the corner of her eye she could see something, something not quite right…something that should not be there. She reached up to grasp it only to find she couldn't move her arm, it was trapped…she was trapped…and still the angelic face of her child remained staring up at her only this time its expression was decidedly less innocent.

Don't fight Mother, we'll be together always, you will be us soon and you will never be alone again.

That was what she wanted wasn't it to finally be loved and accepted for who she was? And this creature was the only one capable of offering The Mistress that? Before Osgood's unexpected arrival Missy would have been certain of her answer and yet now as she stared down at the girl dying at her feet Missy felt a frisson of doubt. Osgood had come here for her, to save her. It seemed unbelievable and yet Missy had seen enough of human stupidity and gallantry to believe it possible, possible for anyone other than her. No one ever came back for The Mistress.

Until now…

And surely that alone was worth one last spin of the dice?

Gathering her child close pulling the hive mind and revelling in its love as she pulled them all in and wrapped them all up feeling the vines tighten around her Missy smiled, properly smiled her gaze dropping to meet Osgood's confused one as the girl lay on her belly in the growing dark and then she stepped back and relished the screams of horror and surprise as the temporal schism sucked them in and slowly ripped them apart.

-/-


	18. Chapter 18

\--/--

It was a strange experience having no corporal form. Honestly after a trip through the Eye of Harmony and an extended stay in the Time Lord Matrix, not to mention her own version The Nethersphere The Mistress really should have been used to it. Yet how could any physical being ever get used to that sensation of ripping and stretching? Her little changeling couldn’t and Missy could only watch, part of her even a little sad, as its representation turned to dust and scattered, the universe pulling it down to base particles and then nothing…nothing except the echoing sound of crying…

Well it was better than the drums but even so Missy found the sound unnerving, like she should understand what it signified and yet the answer was somehow just out of her reach. Sound shouldn’t exist in a vacuum but then again neither should she and yet here she was floating listlessly among the stars like yet another forgotten relic.

She could just let go and let herself dissipate as well…

Well if she was any being other than The Mistress she would have but Missy had “died” one too many times and she was just a little too stubborn. Besides there were other ties keeping her tethered…

Even now she could feel them, the one back to whatever remained of her corporal form was the strongest, a pleasing coil of purple that at least reassured The Mistress there was something to return to. Neatly coiled around it was another fainter link, much fainter than the others but Missy could still distinguish it against the nothingness that surrounded her, a warm chocolate brown. Osgood it had to be, it was the same colour as her eyes and they had been telepathically linked on several occasions now but Missy was surprised to already see a bond forming.

Perhaps that had been why she had been unable to kill the lecturing little pest, she was subconsciously already aware of the bond and therefore was avoiding the psychic headache that would inevitably ensue if she murdered the girl?

Other fainter ties vanished off into different directions, one probably even led to Galifrey if Missy could be bothered to search and find the residual link to the Time Lord collective consciousness. There was only one other that stood out almost as bright as her own link, it blazed a familar blue against the star lit back drop and Missy knew without even running her consciousness along it just where that link would take her. A certain Tardis and a certain Time Lord.

Part of her ached to follow the latent telepathic bond to her best enemy. The Doctor despite being a relatively poor telepath himself had managed to forge a very strong bond with his Tardis, or to be more precise his Tardis had forged a strong connection with him compensating for The Doctor’s natural handicap. Their many telepathic connections over their lifetimes had left a widely carved path for her to follow; far easier for her than him but then she always was the stronger one. The Mistress had used that bond to her advantage once before when she had combined her telepathic power and The Doctor’s bond to call the Tardis to them when The Doctor had blown up Rassilon’s base and doomed them both to death.

Come to think of it that ungrateful lump of a Time Lord had never actually thanked her for that…

So why not pop in? Just for a quick visit whilst she still had the chance and the power to do so…

Missy was certain The Doctor was already trying to find where she and Osgood had vanished too. It surely wouldn’t hurt to drop in and check on his progress and if he had been slacking off find a new way to properly motivate him she thought with sadistic glee as she grasped the connection and felt the sudden surprise of the Doctor’s Tardis. That surprise quickly turned to a warning, something that to Missy’s mind sounded akin to a cat hissing and puffing up its fur to make itself look bigger.

Oh hush I’m just saying hello jealous thing Missy sent in reply, unable to resist an opportunity to mock the Tardis that had been allowed to develop a more inflated sense of their own importance than any Tardis should do.

There was a reason Tardis’s of a certain age were retired after all. Age and excessive exposure to time energy led to the development of stubborness and a self-determination that the Time Lords of old had seen sense to realise was problematic for something that was supposed to be a tool. Well Time Lords other than The Doctor, but then he had always been a bit peculiar; he actually preferred to hang around with lessor beings that argued back. So was it any wonder that he would chose and nurture the very independence of mind that saner Time Lords avoided?

The answering hiss from the Tardis actually made Missy chuckle in something almost akin to fondness for the old museum piece. Well at least she had a sense of humour even if her possessiveness of The Doctor was something that irked The Mistress greatly. After all Theta was hers and it was bad enough having to enforce that fact with all the stupid apes he picked up without having to reinforce that message with some uppity collection of broken gears and springs.

Ignoring the Tardis’s protests Missy piggybacked on her connection with her Pilot, sighing in pleasure as the warmth of another’s thoughts flow into her own mind. The Doctor’s mind was refreshingly familiar and uncomplicated for a Time Lord and Missy found it easy to use his ever present connection with the Tardis to bypass the pathetic excuse he had for shields. For a good few moment she simply luxuriated in the pattern of his thoughts amused herself by snooping through them.

He was asleep, not that he seemed to realise it, he must have drifted off in his library his body getting some much needed rest whilst his mind continued on working through everything he had on his mind.

Missy watched as a hidden observer as The Doctor recalled with some discomfort the uncomfortably emotional moment the resurrected version of Danny Pink went down on one knee after his girlfriend…no fiancée had woken up alive and well after The Doctor had disabled the dream crab.

She giggled to herself as he began to mentally rant about having to attend yet another companion's wedding…She almost sympathised as his thoughts coloured with worry, he really didn’t have the best track record with weddings, something really did seem to always happen and it was normally his fault. The man was a magnet for trouble.

Yet she couldn’t understand his preoccupation with what he was supposed to get as a wedding present, still it seemed to be bothering him and after a quick review of the last few weddings he had attended Missy was beginning to see why. At least here she might be of some use and it was about time she announced her presence. As much fun as it was spying on Thete it wasn’t why she was using up this opportunity and it really was more fun showing off when she had an audience

“I would say offer to take them on a honeymoon trip but that didn't work out so well the last time better to just get them a vase…or maybe a bit of glass from Hanon Four?” Missy suggested, laughing out loud as the mental representation of The Doctor was so startled he almost jumped out of his wing backed chair, yet it seemed when his limbs didn't obey him he began to panic and Missy felt a tiny bit guilty. Perhaps she should have knocked first?

“You're dreaming love.” She added in a genuine effort to put him at ease.

_The Dream Crabs…_

“No proper dreaming…asleep in the library dreaming…probably snoring your head off knowing you Thete.” Missy replied with a fond note of teasing in her mind voice that she just couldn’t hide.

 _Then how?_ This wasn't possible The Doctor was certain of it. The Mistress was a powerful telepath but even she couldn't manage this sort of prolonged telepathic contact.

“Thank you for the compliment.” Missy teased as The Doctor still unused to the intimacy of a telepathic communication still continued to broadcast his every thought. So it was with some measure of disappointment Missy watched as he tried to bring such stray thoughts under control, yet he was out of practice and so occasionally a stray thought slipped through but at least she was assured he now believed it was her, either that or he was finally going round the loop.

“No madder than normal honey…but if truth be told I got a bit of an impromptu boost and I thought I would use it to say hello and check up on you. So I just followed my link to your Tardis and used her to relay the signal a bit to bypass your shields.”

 _I am not a child Mistress I do not need you to ...what do you mean do you have a link with my Tardis?_ The Doctor’s irritation was obvious as was his growing annoyance when that irritation caused her to laugh.

“Not got around that little bit of voodoo you did on yourself? Honestly Thete you would think a Doctor would know better, after all no surgeon should operate on himself.” Missy retorted smugly. Yet it really was a double edged sword whilst The Doctor’s self-applied memory suppression worked he didn’t recall the terrible memories that had driven him to lose himself and turn to violence but he also didn’t remember that she had been the one to rescue him and then rescue them when he had caused the whole world to turn to ash.

Missy was so preoccupied with hiding her own mixed feelings about this that she didn’t even notice the attack, it was like being flipped unexpectedly and the sudden rush of Thete actually sent her spinning and her mind automatically grabbed for the safest anchor point.

It felt like they hit the ground with a thump knocking the air out of her, quite a feat for someone who had only minutes before been encased in mud and to whose apparently lifeless body a similarly coated scantily clad Osgood had been applying mouth to mouth to. The look on Osgood’s face as the lifeless corpse suddenly opened its eyes was almost worth the discomforting experience of having The Doctor in her head. Yet she couldn’t stomach the sense of smug satisfaction that quickly turned outright nosiness as he used her eyes to look around the mud covered room.

Missy’s only satisfaction was the clearly incorrect conclusions The Doctor jumped to before she roughly ejected from her mind and pushed them both back into his dreamscape.

“That was rude!”

“That was bloody cheating and you know it Doctor.”

 _Like you are one to talk._ The Doctor retorted smugly. _I see Osgood is still alive then. Funny it is almost as though you are getting soft in your old age Mistress, taking on a human companion after all these years._

“If you are going to be insulting then I am leaving.” Missy huffed Osgood was a sore point right now and not one she wanted The Doctor poking

_No!_

The reply was instantaneous and Missy caught a whiff of embarrassment before The Doctor which he squashed it down, but despite his attempt at subterfuge Missy couldn’t help but preen in delight at his true feelings.

“So you do love me after all.” She cooed in delight mentally poking a squirming Doctor who quickly bit back a cutting retort yet it was too late to be convincing.

_There are no words for what I feel for you._

“L.O.V.E” Missy gloated revelling in the illicit knowledge even as The Doctor continued in his futile protests.

_Spelling it out doesn't make it any more true Mistress._

Dancing around in glee Missy noticed when the library dreamscape started to fade and their connection began to crackle as her power faded and the pull towards her own body combined with the exhaustion such a communication was having on her poor Doctor.

“Doctor…DOCTOR!” Missy yelled jarring The Doctor into concentrating for a few moments more.

_What? I'm tired let me sleep, I haven't been sleeping well._

Smiling indulgently at the sulky almost childlike tone his mind voice had adopted Missy couldn’t help but put two and two together, wondering if this time she had the answer to the mysterious repetitive crying she kept picking up. “Neither have I love…I thought it was you…I thought I heard you crying.”

_No…not me…_

Relieved that it wasn’t him at least Missy raked her mental fingers across his psyche, she even kept her nails from scratching which for her was as close to a loving gesture as she could manage and she felt The Doctor’s answering smile. “Sleep love I'll see you soon.” She added before withdrawing back to herself.

Forcing mud clumped eyelashes back open Missy blinked open tired eyes unable to hide the fond smile that actually appeared fleetingly upon her lips as Osgood’s dark eyes actually lit up with some human emotion, perhaps it was relief, perhaps it was gas? These humans were such primitive creatures and yet there was one thing about this particular human that perplexed The Mistress and she somehow found the strength to ask.

“Why aren’t you dead?”

\---/---


	19. Chapter 19

id:10983970  
-/-

When Osgood had been flung back into her own body it had been to the burning sensation in her lungs like she had been holding her breath for too long. She had spluttered, coughing up the mud that lingered in her mouth and coated every crevice like a second layer of skin. Those first rasping breaths had been some of the most painful and yet beautiful moments of her life; laying there in a pool of now stagnant mud she had mused philosophical on how much better it was to be alive than not.

Then she remembered why she was alive.

Missy…

Then tears sprang to her eyes and trickled down her cheeks barely making a dent in the mud that caked every inch and itched most unpleasantly. Her already poor vision now blurred something terrible as she reached around for the Time Lady recognising her by the length of her skirt if not her features. Running her hands up Missy's too still frame Osgood searched for any sign of life, her hands lingering at her chest pushing aside wet clothing desperate for any sign of a single let alone a double heartbeat under her palms. It was so faint and slow that at first Osgood could barely make it out but there was something there.

Yet a heartbeat was pointless if Missy couldn't breathe.

Osgood knew from UNIT files that Time Lords had a secondary respiratory system. Not that there was much detail about what that actual meant, after all no UNIT scientist had actually dissected a Time Lord and The Doctor had been unusually reticent to discuss his species biology. She knew it meant they did not need to breathe in the way a human would but Osgood didn't know how long the bypass system would supply The Mistress's needs and she had already been trapped in that mud for far longer than Osgood had.

So there was nothing else for it…

Wiping the excess mud from Missy's mouth Osgood forced herself to remember her lifesaving training. Like with any of her practical induction training Osgood had struggled somewhat with the first aid portion. In particular the mouth to mouth portion but back then it had been far easier to blame it on the vile double train track braces she had still been forced to wear and which had made maintaining a seal around the dummy's mouth rather more difficult for her.

She had never had to use her training on a real person before and Osgood fumbled with positioning Missy's head, lifting her chin to in theory clear her airway before bending down and covering the Time Lady's mouth with her own. One breath in and Osgood turned her head to make sure Missy's chest was actually rising. It was and that had Osgood sighing in relief even as she waited a moment before pushing another breath into the Time Lady.

Then suddenly Missy tensed beneath her and Osgood recoiled back as those blue eyes opened…

Confusion…Curiosity…A look of shock as her gaze fell on Osgood…

It must have been some sort of sixth sense but as Osgood stared down into those familiar bright blue eyes she was convinced that there was something other than Missy behind them and she felt her heart sink down into her stomach.

Had it all been for nothing? Was it no longer The Mistress in control of that body but that monster that Missy had been so protective of?

Only one thing was certain in Osgood's mind was that monster couldn't be allowed to walk out of here in a Time Lord body. It had caused enough mayhem and death whilst trapped in its previous form and in control of a body that could go anywhere and could regenerate if killed was unacceptable. Yet there was a way to stop it, if a Time Lord was killed whilst regenerating then they would die just like anyone else.

The gun…Seb's gun it had to be somewhere around here.

Pulling away from Missy's body Osgood searched quickly, moving from body to body until she found the one she was looking for. Her hand closed around the gun that was still in Seb's hand. Prising loose the fingers as she pulled it free Osgood was surprised to feel the fingers press back slightly before releasing her.

"Seb?" Osgood gasped in surprise, reaching up to brush the mud from the face of the former A.I. who for the first time looked at her with something other than contempt in his expression.

"It…hur…"

"Shush don't try to talk I'll get help." Osgood insisted, surprised when Seb shook his head and gestured with his fingers like he wanted her to talk his hand.

"I'm…scared…" Seb confessed his old eyes filling with tears as the pain in his chest robbed him of further breath.

How could he make this silly slip of a human understand? There was only one thing Seb was frightened of, far more terrifying than this new experience of pain, fear of oblivion. He wasn't really human; he had no soul, no claim to any afterlife. He wasn't even convinced that there was such a thing, not after the Nethersphere, but for him there wasn't even the hope. He would simply cease to exist and everything that he had experienced and learnt would be lost. And when she returned to her Tardis The Mistress would probably pull a backup version of him out of storage and then it would be like this version of him, of Seb, had never even existed.

The Mistress wouldn't be hampered by a little thing like sentiment. Only this human that he had railed against, had lashed out at in jealousy would ever remember him as he was now.

"I'm…sorr…" Seb managed to force out relieved to see in Osgood's face that she understood what he was trying to say.

Blinking back tears Osgood could only watch as Seb closed his eyes, as his barely discernible breaths finally stopped. Yet she didn't have time to grieve for him now. Retrieving the gun she half shuffled half slipped back over to The Mistress who was still laying there, breathing all by herself now but those blue eyes remained closed. Gripping the gun in her trembling hands Osgood pressed the pointy end to Missy's chest and waited.

She didn't have to wait long. The Mistress's eyelashes blinked open and a fond sardonic smile tugged at her lips as her bright blue gaze met Osgood's own.

Relief…it was overwhelming…like a rush of adrenaline Osgood could have cried with it as a familiar sarcastic drawl demanded.

"Why aren't you dead?"

Dropping the weapon Osgood ignored the likelihood of being vaporised for her impertinence, her hands gripping hard at Missy's torn jacket as she half dragged the horrified Time Lady into her arms venting her fear and relief and frustration in hot tears on the Time Lady's shoulder. Perplexed and more than a little disturbed Missy endured the human's pawing, only wrinkling her nose a little in disgust at the prospect of all that human mucus smeared all over her. Well her jacket was ruined in any case and if it made her pet feel better…

Yet Missy would deny till she was blue in the face that even for a moment she tilted her head and rested it against the human girl's, or that she sent any sort of comfort telepathically. It wasn't out of any sort of sympathy. It was just a means to an end, and that end was to stop Skip's silly bawling.

She wasn't going soft in her old age and certainly not over a human.

-/-

It was strange being back on earth. Stranger in that nothing here seemed to have changed and yet she had changed so fundamentally that Osgood couldn't help but find it jarring. Did she matter so little to the energy and balance of her own planet that her absence and then return meant nothing? That family and friends, such that she still had, had probably gone about their own lives in happy oblivion to her absence, or worse that they had realised but that it was a mere inconvenience.

"You have no messages." Her empty answer phone was telling and Osgood couldn't help but blink back tears, trying to convince herself that it was because everyone would have phoned her mobile which was still in UNIT custody and that UNIT would have probably contacted everyone who mattered to tell them of her defection.

"By Gallifrey this apartment is small." The reason for her pariah status was currently in Osgood's bedroom enjoying herself immensely by picking apart Osgood's living accommodation and her limited wardrobe.

"Not all of us have the benefit of fifth dimensional engineering." Osgood sniped back as she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. She couldn't let Missy catch her bawling again, her initial outburst on Aquila had already earned her the designation of a snotty little cry baby and Osgood was not keen to reinforce that image.

"We could do something about that…" Came the suggestive retort and Osgood tried her best to ignore the little flip her stomach still did when The Mistress used the word "we".

"Yes and then I would be homeless as well as unemployed after UNIT impounded my apartment." Osgood retorted, relieved that her voice at least sounded steady.

Yet there was no hiding Osgood's slight catch of breath as Missy swanned back into the room and plopped herself down on Osgood's armchair, bare legs swung over the arm, revealing a good expanse of thigh from under the hem of the oversized David Bowie t-shirt that Missy declared the only thing tolerable in Osgood's wardrobe.

"At least let me do something about the bathroom Skip. Honestly it's ridiculously small in there but it at least explains why you seem to take so little effort with your appearance." Missy retorted ignoring her pet's wince, honestly the girl was so sensitive, and what was wrong with a little constructive criticism?

"You know I would have thought almost being eaten by a psychic mud monster would have made you nicer!" Osgood spat back, unable to hide the flush on her cheeks as Missy pouted and blew her a kiss.

"I am being nice to you pet. Here I am offering to not only remodel your bathroom but teach you the basics of space folding…" Missy teased swinging her legs back and forth as she stared bored up at the ceiling. "Humans are so sensitive."

"No you're just a bitch." Osgood retorted amazed by her own nerve even as Missy shot her a look that was half impressed half a warning of imminent pain.

"Careful Skip there is no need to be rude and after I so nicely fixed all those listening devices for you so UNIT wouldn't simply turn up and cart you off to jail. I'm a guest after all didn't Mummy ever teach you to look after your guests?"

"You're a squatter!" Osgood corrected her. "Not a guest and I wouldn't even have to worry about UNIT or ending up in jail if it wasn't for you!"

"Potatoooes….Potaaaaaaatoes." Missy sung back rolling her eyes as Osgood glared. "You know what we should do? We should get dressed up and go out, I haven't had a proper dance in ages…"

"Our faces are probably plastered over every police force's most wanted list and you want to go clubbing?" Osgood could only shake her head in disbelief. "Besides what were you planning on wearing, you've already insisted most of my wardrobe needs to be burnt?"

"There are such things as shops Ms Osgood not that you seem to visit anything other than charity shops." Missy mused. "But we could pop back to any decade you fancy, go to a concert even, come on Skip don't you fancy being able to meet Mr Bowie in person? I could get us in backstage…"

It was tempting. Osgood had to admit just how tempted she was but she had made her decision back on Aquila and there was no changing her mind now. She just wasn't cut out to be a companion, certainly not The Mistress's. She couldn't bring herself not to care and they would continue to clash until one of them killed the other and considering their track record Osgood knew she was going to be the one who ended up dead.

"No I just can't….I'm sorry." Osgood muttered, and she was sorry as she watched Missy's face fall before all emotion was suddenly shuttered and her normal sneer took its place.

"Fine." The Mistress huffed, a deep scowl pulling down her eyebrows as her irritation with her stubborn human only grew.

She hadn't expected Skip to stick with her decision. Missy agreed to bring her back to earth certain in the assertion that when she got here Osgood would reconsider. She hadn't expected the little ape to refuse and now Missy faced the prospect of returning to an empty Tardis. It was ridiculous that such a small thing was even bothering her.

In her previous incarnations she had travelled the universe alone and it had never bothered her. Oh she had picked up the occasional ally but most of the time she had been planning to exterminate them from the moment they stepped foot on her precious Tardis. Osgood was different, the first companion she chosen. Admittedly at first out of a perverse incentive to deny The Doctor his latest choice and then out of a lingering curiosity as to what her best enemy actually saw in this barely evolved bi-pedal species.

At first she had drawn a blank, even once you got used to the smell what was so special about humans?

It wasn't until now facing the prospect of losing even her pathetic excuse for a companion that Missy began to grasp what could be so addictive about humans. Their life spans were so short and finite that they simply had to live in the present and because of that they seemed to experience things with an intensity that Time Lords lacked. Their excitement, their fear, everything was more potent around them and a Time Lord could in essence live vicariously through them.

Yet the longer such a dependency grew the harder it would be to break, like any bad habit and so it was probably a good thing that Osgood would stay behind.

Yes….Yes it was for the best….even if the prospect of returning to an empty Tardis filled The Mistress with dread.

"Well then there is no point in putting it off." Missy muttered mainly to herself.

After all she had a hundred and one things to do, she needed to pop back and get herself a new outfit from her favourite couturier, after all she couldn't wear Osgood's clothes forever. Then she needed to get to work on a new Seb, after Osgood had vehemently refused to allow Missy to simply pull an old version of her previous A.I. out of storage. Such silly sentimental ideas these humans had and yet Missy had capitulated to please her companion….not that it had ultimately done any good.

"Oh." Osgood could only watch in surprise as Missy rose from the seat and began to gather the equipment she had used on the surveillance equipment UNIT had bugged her flat with. "You're just going to go…just like that."

"Well you made your choice Skip and I agreed to respect it." Missy retorted tartly, lips pinching into a sour expression.

"It seems pointless to simply delay the inevitable." She added catching sight of the disbelieving expression on the human scientist's face. "What didn't you expect me to keep my word?"

Blushing as Missy's accusation hit home Osgood couldn't hold her gaze.

"Such a low opinion of me." Missy tutted. "I'm not the Time Lord that lies pet. I'm the honest one, brutally honest at times I confess but my word is not one that you should question when I give it."

"I'm sorry and well I suppose I should say thank you." Osgood stumbled over her words, pushing her spare pair of glasses up her nose as she forced herself to say it out loud. "I may not have been for me but it was amazing to even take one trip."

"But was it worth it hmmm?" Missy pondered held tilted to one side as her bright blue gaze raked over the young woman.

"Yes." Osgood replied honestly pleased when at least that drew a half smile from The Mistress. "Even if I end up working a dead-end job in some lab somewhere I still got to walk on another planet and see things that no human will see for centuries. Or I could always be a tea girl?"

There was probably some platitude she was supposed to utter now, something all wise and noble that would make Osgood value the sacrifice she had made, that's what The Doctor would do. He was the real master at manipulating these little humans; both Time Lords were guilty of destroying human lives by the obscene amount but The Doctor was the only one who succeeded in making them love him for it. Yet that was skill The Mistress neither desired or required.

Still there was something to be said for rewarding unexpected kindness and Osgood had saved her life more than once…

Closing the remaining distance between them Missy couldn't help but smile as Osgood actually stood her ground instead of cowering away like she would have once done. She barely even flinched when Missy reached up and trailed her fingertips gently over her cheeks reaching up to remove those hideous glasses.

"Miss…"

"Shush pet." Missy instructed firmly but not unkindly, watching as the girl swallowed and blinked myopically up at her.

It was such a human sentiment, one that hardly sat with her Time Lord sensibilities but Missy would use what she could. Fingers traced over full lips and down to her chin, grasping it firmly as she tilted her own head and leaning down brushed unpainted lips against the trembling human's. Deepening the kiss for a moment, she relished the little moan of pleasure that Osgood couldn't even suppress, lapping at her closed mouth as she tangled strong fingers in the human's dishevelled hair and pulled her closer, tongue teasing her mouth open. For a moment their breaths mingled as their bodies pressed together and Missy felt the human's single heart pounding beneath her fragile skin.

Pulling back Missy savoured the look of pure abandonment on Osgood's face, pressing their foreheads together as she rubbed her nose and then her cheek against the human before bringing her lips level with Osgood's ear.

"Forgive me." It was whispered low and for a moment as The Mistress pulled away she watched as the message was translated in the human brain and Osgood's eyes began to flicker open…

Yet the sudden and precisely applied blow had those eyes closing shut before they could even properly open, Osgood never saw it coming and for that Missy was grateful as she supported the now unconscious human in her arms.

-/-


	20. Chapter 20

Epilogue

-/-

Her head hurt…

That was the first thought Osgood was consciously aware of.

The second was the smell…antiseptic and….boot polish.

Only one place on earth conjured both of those smells and Osgood groaned…UNIT…she had been caught…but how…the last thing she remembered…Missy…Kissing Missy or more to the point Missy kissing her and she…she had liked it.

Oh god and now Osgood groaned from a combination of pain and embarrassment…Missy had kissed her and Osgood had kissed her back and then…then nothing…

"Shush Osgood it's alright you're safe now." A familiar voice calmed her gently.

Kate?

Blinking Osgood winced when the bright hospital bay lights hurt her eyes and she cried out as she closed them again. Yet one glimpse was enough, this was UNIT and it was Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, her former boss sitting at her bedside.

"You have a nasty concussion but you are going to be alright now." Kate explained in a low soft voice that didn't cause Osgood's head to ache any worse than it already was.

Well that explained the pain but it didn't explain the why? And where was Missy, did UNIT have her too? Was she hurt too? Osgood felt genuine fear at the thought, her feelings for the Time Lady were a puzzle even to her but Osgood at least knew for certain that the idea of Missy hurt and imprisoned by UNIT was one that filled her with fear and dread.

"When? How did I get here?" Osgood croaked her voice dry and unnatural sounding even to her own ears.

"Shush don't try to speak." Kate reassured her gently and Osgood could only marvel at how kind her former boss was being, especially after their last parting. "Here take some water…just small sips now you are still quite dehydrated. You've only been here a couple of hours."

Now that didn't make any sense and Kate must have seen her forehead crease in confusion as she continued on her explanation before Osgood could speak again and make herself feel worse.

"None of the details matter right now Osgood, the important thing is that you are safe here and that everything is going to be alright."

"But how?" Osgood persisted refusing to allow herself to be side tracked. "Where is Missy?"

"That Monster will never be able to touch you again I promise." Kate replied hotly, her blue eyes flashing in outright anger. "It's a miracle you lasted so long, if The Doctor hadn't found you when he did…" Now it was Kate's voice that croaked with what sounded suspiciously like emotion, unusual for her normally stoic superior. "I'm just so sorry…I should have realised you would never willingly betray us…I should never have doubted you."

"I don't understand." Osgood muttered forcing her eyes open despite the pain it caused to try and search for the answers to her questions on her boss's face and yet even as she looked at Kate it was the figure standing in the background as if trying to make himself inconspicuous that drew her gaze. "Doctor?"

"Perhaps you should give us a moment Kate?" The Doctor suggested and yet it wasn't really a suggestion and the UNIT Chief Scientist huffed in annoyance, a tinge of red appearing on the high points of her cheeks at being dismissed from her own sickbay. Still she did as The Doctor asked, with one final pat to Osgood's arm she stepped back and left them alone.

"Where's Missy?" Osgood demanded the moment they were alone; surprised when The Doctor raised a hand to his lips gesturing for her to be quiet as he raised his sonic and fiddled with the settings. A high pitch buzzing caused Osgood's teeth to set on edge but fortunately a few seconds of the sonic was all that was needed.

"There now we should be able to talk quietly without being eavesdropped on." The Doctor replied storm grey eyes running over her bruised temple causing his expression to sour unconsciously as he took Kate's abandoned seat at her bedside. "Now you must have many quest…."

"Where's Missy? What did you do to her? Is she here? Do UNIT have her?" Osgood demanded, surprising The Doctor with her vehement accusation.

"What makes you think I have done anything to The Mistress?" The Doctor retorted thick eyebrows drawn into a deep frown. "And if I had why would you seem to care? If anything I would have thought you would be more interested in why you are here and what she did to you?"

Opening her mouth to protest Osgood found her objection dying on her tongue, the memory of Missy's lips on hers….Forgive me…and then blackness…that was the last thing she remembered but it didn't make any sense. Missy couldn't…she wouldn't have anything to do with Osgood's current condition…could she?

"Shall I tell you what I know and then perhaps we can fill in the blanks together?" The Doctor suggested his eyes now surprisingly gentle as Osgood seemed to be at war with herself. Part of her wanted to trust him, it was The Doctor the man she had spent a lifetime looking up to, yet this was also the Time Lord that she had seen lose control and try and murder The Mistress with his bare hands.

"There I was circling the most interested star cluster when I received a message via my psychic paper, just a set of coordinates and a time stamp. Naturally I was curious and I assumed it was another one of The Mistress's little pranks, like the coordinates she left on my sonic another little false trail for me to follow, but I wasn't exactly busy and I saw no reason not to follow them…"

"What has this got to do with me?" Osgood cut in, despite her lack of glasses and her concussion she did her best to focus on The Doctor's face and try and read his expression as best she could. Yet it was a futile task, she could just about make out his eyes and nose and eyebrows.

"It is relevant Ms Osgood because that is where I found you. All nicely tied up and looking for all intents and purposes like someone had beaten seven bells out of you. Oh and there was a little note as well." The Doctor paused reaching into his pocket for the purple scented notepaper which he began to read from.

"My Dear Doctor…Here's a little present, I heard you lost your latest companion and could do with a replacement. As much fun as Human's can be it really is too tiring for yours truly keeping a pet on board, feeding them, making sure they don't bleed all over the furniture and do not even get me started on the smell…It is going to take my Tardis weeks to start smelling normal again. So please accepted this belated birthday present, it is a little worse for wear but a girl's gotta have some fun and she does scream quite delightfully. I hope you like it better than the Cyber Army (well there is no accounting for taste). Ta ta Missy XXX"

"No…No…" Osgood didn't, she wouldn't believe it. Why would Missy hurt her, it made no sense?

Only this was The Mistress when did violence have to make sense? Had Osgood merely been deluding herself that The Mistress had thought she was special? Perhaps when she had refused to change her mind about continuing as her companion Missy had flipped and it was simply that Osgood didn't remember…or was choosing not to?

Yet it seemed The Doctor wasn't finished with his explanation even though he waited until Osgood seemed to have caught up before continuing.

"Yet what was really curious to me was when I got you into the Tardis and into one of my medical pods was the amount of high quality pain relief floating around in your system. With that floating through your system you wouldn't have felt a thing, not a single blow, someone could have set your limbs of fire and you would not feel it. And apart from your concussion every injury was superficial, soft tissue bruising. It looks unpleasant and you are certainly going to be sore for a few days but there is nothing permanent; nothing that won't heal with a few weeks rest." The Doctor added leaning down to study her and causing Osgood to really listen, his voice low and curious as his eyes watched Osgood's face carefully for any clue.

"Such a lot of care to take…well for someone who was merely collateral damage. Why would The Mistress even make the effort? Why even give you back why not simply kill you and leave a corpse for me to find?"

When he had first found Osgood in that state he had been both surprised and disappointed. It had barely been a few days since his telepathic encounter with The Mistress and as of then Osgood had been alive and well, if a little on the grubby side. The Doctor had found himself hoping in a way he hadn't allowed himself to hope in years that finally her eyes had been opened, even if just a crack and The Mistress had come to accept there was something worthy in a human. That perhaps Osgood could do for The Mistress what his first companions had done for him…

Then he had found the poor girls bloody and beaten body and his hope turned to ashes in his mouth. He had sworn that the next time he found The Mistress he wouldn't let the past or lingering sentiment blind him to what she was…a monster…

Then the Tardis's medbay had presented him with this little puzzle and now…well now he wasn't sure what to think. That Osgood wasn't dead was the real surprise, that she had been left for him to find had confused him, that Missy had left a gloating note fit with what he would expect from The Mistress but then why did she also leave a message with UNIT?

Blinking back tears Osgood tried to puzzle it out for herself. "Why would she do this…"

"I was hoping you would tell me that Ms Osgood." The Doctor replied staring down at her through steepled fingers.

"Why would The Mistress hurt you and yet take care not to hurt you too badly? Why would she bother to leave you alive at all let alone send me a convenient message about where to find you? And why would she also leave a gloating message all over the UNIT systems about how she had you hypnotised, under her power all along and the stupid little human's hadn't even cottoned on? That you had only ever gone with her because she forced you to."

"Oh." Osgood could only gasp, unable to believe what she was hearing.

Now it was starting to make sense in the warped way that Osgood had begun to understand how The Mistress thought. It was a good job Missy wasn't here right now because Osgood wasn't sure that injuries or no injuries she would be able to stop herself from launching herself at The Time Lady and shaking some common sense into her. Missy was violent and capable of murder, yet for people she cared about she was also capable of great acts of kindness, even if the way she went about said acts was beyond the pale for most people.

"Oh indeed." The Doctor retorted leaning back in his chair. "Ms Osgood I have the beginnings of a theory. Because I have seen people after they have been hypnotised by The Master and you…"

"Don't…just don't." Osgood insisted swallowing down her tears and her anger. "You already know that I wasn't, I chose to go with her and then I chose to come home and she let me go."

"The Mistress does not just let people go; I need to know if you are any sort of danger to UNIT or earth?"

"I'm not a plant Doctor." Osgood replied. "Do you really she would need to use me if she wanted something from UNIT? No she'd just waltz right in through the front doors and take it." Osgood added with a wry chuckle.

"Well then that only leaves one other possibility." The Doctor whispered his hands tugging nervously with his cuff as he looked up at Osgood trying his hardest to suppress the hopeful expression that smoothed out his scowl. "I just…well forgive me if I find it a little hard to believe, The Mistress does not do things for other people if it doesn't also benefit her."

"You of all people know that isn't true. She may not do things the way you want but that doesn't mean she is incapable of empathy. If she was then she would have simply told you why you chose to suppress those memories." Osgood muttered, and she closed her eyes against The Doctor's cold probing gaze. If she tried Osgood could still feel the cool smoothness of the Time Lady's mouth against her own, and the soft request for forgiveness before the world went black.

"I am afraid you are seeing what you want to see Ms Osgood, it is also perfectly plausible that The Mistress hurt you because she wanted to, that she left the message for UNIT because she enjoys seeing people dance to her tune, and there may be far more to her plan than you or I know…"

"No Doctor she did it for me, because it was the only way to convince UNIT to take me back, to convince them I wasn't a threat and because who wouldn't believe her capable of it? She is the evil Time Lord after all!" Osgood added bitterly, opening her eyes to meet The Doctor's gaze, proud of herself when she didn't cower and was able to hold it.

"And she is, but that's not all she is..." Osgood added softly a slight smile tugging at her bruised lip, a smile that proved infectious as it hesitantly spread across The Doctor's face as well, the smile of a secret shared. "And I think you know that better than anyone Doctor."

"I want to believe that is the truth." The Doctor replied, his voice so low it was almost a whisper. "I want to believe there is something of my friend left…but it is just so hard to hope and to be disappointed again and again…I just can't let myself hope again only to get my hearts broken."

Smiling sadly Osgood wished she had the words to convince him, but perhaps The Doctor was right, perhaps she was the one who was being the fool here, perhaps The Mistress really did have a master plan she was unaware of. Yet Osgood was certain she was right, that she was more than a mere pawn in a plan, that Missy really did care for her and this was just her way of showing it by giving Osgood her life back. Only time would tell it seemed but in the meantime Osgood could cling to her beliefs and take comfort from them, she was valued, she was special after all no matter what anyone else said.

Reaching out Osgood took the Time Lord's aged hand in her own and patted the back gently, smiling as he looked up at her with such a look of conflict in his eyes that Osgood's heart broke a little for him. "It's alright Doctor I can hope for the both of us."

-/-


End file.
